


Claws and paws

by Lets_change_fate (Zaazaaa)



Series: Claws and paws universe [1]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: A bit of fear, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Atsushi Needs a Hug, But mostly Cuteness, Fluff, Himuro is a cat, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, OC's - Freeform, Romance, Shapeshifting, Slow Build, soulanimal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2017-01-21
Packaged: 2018-09-03 09:36:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 29,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8707204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zaazaaa/pseuds/Lets_change_fate
Summary: In a world where everyone can shapeshift in their soulanimal, predatory shapeshifters have an advantage. Life is not easy, especially when you are in highschool and your soulanimal is a cat. Himuro Tatsuya was ashamed of his soulanimal, until he found out that someone was very fond of cats. And that someone has the most dangerous soulanimal in the whole school...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys~ Thanks for reading my first fanfic for this site. I really love this fandom but I found out that there were only a few fluffy fics about only Himuro and Murasakibara. And those two are gold, so I decided to make one myself. English isn't my native language, so feel free to comment on something that really bothers you. Hope you guy enjoy!

Living in a world where everyone has a soulanimal, school life is like living in the wild. It is either eat or be eaten. Not literally, thank god. But the food chain is clearly noticeable. The stronger animals are often the most popular and the weakest are easily bullied. 

Everyone knows that they shouldn't judge a person on their soulanimal, but it is sadly something that happens. Unconsciously canines befriend other canines and felines hang more around other felines.

Not that everyone just displays their animal to everybody. Your soulanimal is a personal thing, and it is considered rude to just ask anyone about their animal. But of course, there are exceptions. Some teens like to boost with their animal, commonly because they are a predator high on the food chain. And there are people that are just rude and ask outright personal questions. Then there are two other kind of people.

A group of people that are famous because of their soulanimal, mostly because they are an endangered species. And the group of people whose soulanimal is well known, because they are famous. Not so recently a group of teens became famous because of their strength. These teens were from Teiko Junior High. This school also competed in the traditional competition games between schools. In those games, a group of every school fights against other groups in different kind of games, based on strength, agility and knowledge.

Teiko Junior High was the utmost winner a few years in a row, thanks to a group of teens, now called the Generation of Miracles. Each boy in this group directly became famous, and with that, their soulanimal was outed to the public. They were called the unstoppable force. But against everyone's expectation, every teen decided to go to another High school.

And so Himuro Tatsuya found himself in the same class as the giant Murasakibara Atsushi. This purple haired teen had the strong black bear as soulanimal. And everyone in the school knew. Himuro kind of envied the guy, because he himself was just a simple house cat. Not that he hated it to be a cat. No, he loved it. One of the benefits of being such an animal was that he was allowed to walk around in animal form in public.

Most people are not allowed to run around in their animal form for "safety reasons". There was a penalty for walking around as a dangerous animal. A lot of people are against that law. They think it is unfair to deny a group of people some rights, and some even break the law frequently. As long as they are fast enough and can't get caught, some get away with it. But Himuro can stroll in his cat form in his neighbourhood. Sometimes he even does that just to clear his mind.

But there are disadvantages on being a cat. Himuro isn't as strong as most soulanimals and wouldn't win in a fight. Right now he managed to keep his soulanimal a secret to everyone, and he is determined to keep it that way. His wittiness and clever comebacks had saved him multiple times. But right now it seems to come back to him. He might have said something that insulted the biggest popular guy in the school.

Ryo is a muscular guy with spiked blond hair and an impressive broad smile, with which he can charm every girl in the school. He has the grey wolf as his soulanimal, and doesn’t hide the fact that he is proud of it. Ryo also is the leader of a small group of guys, which were all undoubtedly canines. The group was called the Pack and a lot of people were looking up on them.

Himuro isn't one of them though. He sees the way Ryo humiliates other students and bullies others, just to look strong. Himuro really despises that kind of people. He is walking to his locker with his bag in his hand. Trying to get out of the school before the Pack gets to him. Himuro knows he is no match against them, and he needs to know what it is that Ryo is angry about before they come up to him. Or else he might only make it worse.

The word has spread around the school that Ryo was looking for Himuro, but why exactly wasn't clear yet. With long lean strides he steps to his locker. A sigh escapes him. Today could have gone better. First the teacher had decided that, because it was a new semester, the students should switch places. Himuro was seated in the back of the class, because he is kind of tall.

Not that he minds sitting in the back of the class, but he was placed right next to that Murasakibara guy. And Himuro must admit it, he is scared of him. Compared to Murasakibara, he is not tall at all. The giant is 6' 10"! He has long hair, which kind of matches with Himuro’s. Except that Himuro wears his hair with a lock before his left eye and his hair is dark grey and Murasakibara's hair is bright purple. Himuro also has a little mole under his right eye. Okay maybe they don't look that much alike.

Himuro also has a little mole under his right eye and his build was slim and athletic. But in comparison with the giant, Himuro was scrawny. The other was almost twice as wide as him. And now that he is seated next to the intimidating posture of Murasakibara, he experienced problems with focusing on the class. His attention kept wandering to the person next to him. It took him two whole hours just to get comfortable and not flinch at every move the other guy made. Himuro could kill the teacher for putting him on that place. This will influence his grades.

The teacher himself seemed glad that he could place the purple haired teen so far away from him, even he is a bit afraid. Himuro knew he was being rude by ignoring his neighbour the rest of the day, but it looked like Murasakibara didn't even mind. The guy kept munching on some candy he brought with him in the class. There was a no-eating-in-class rule. But nobody dared to speak up about that.

In the last break, Himuro heard that Ryo was looking for him. That gave him an extra reason to dash out of his seat the moment the last bell rang. Himuro put his bag in his locker and starts looking for what he must take with him. Right then he hears the loud voice of Ryo echoing through the corridor. In panic, Himuro shuts his locker and walks away. He ducks behind a locker to the opposite direction of the voice. Carefully he peeks around the edge to see Ryo coming up to his locker. So he knows where his locker is, that could become a problem.

"Himuro!" He yells, looking really angry. 

"I know you are here somewhere. Show your face!" Himuro closes his eyes.

Normally he would have talked to the dumb guy. He knows he could talk his way out of it. But this time everyone will be looking, and on top of that Ryo had at least four other canine boys with him. And Himuro was so done with this day. He just wants to go home.

"Himuro!" He hears the other boy saying. He opens his eyes again with a sigh, but his decision is made. No more drama today, Ryo can wait. A plan starts forming in Himuro’s head. He looks around, but it is too busy in this corridor.

He first needs to get to a place where he can't be seen. One last time he peeks around the edge. But that appears to be a wrong move. A tall graceful boy with short brown hair and brown eyes, who is known to be Ryo’s right hand, notices him. The guy immediately nudges Ryo and points at Himuro’s place. Himuro turns around and sprints back in the corridor without waiting to see how Ryo will react.

He doesn't bother about the strange looks he gets. He only wants to get away from there quickly. Then he finds an open door and ducks in a classroom. A quick glance around lets him know that there is nobody in here. He knows that his next move will be risky, but if it works, it would be worth it. Letting the door slightly ajar, he steps back behind a desk and closes his eyes. The next time he opens his eyes, he is much closer to the ground.

Himuro changed in his soulanimal, a grey cat. He stretches his paws and flicks his tail to get the feeling in his muscles back. Then Himuro listens intently to the noise around them. He clearly hears the rough voice of Ryo outside. He sits down under the desk with his tail curling around his paws and waits until he hears footsteps pass the door. For a second it keeps quiet and Himuro thinks he's safe. But then the door is slammed open. Himuro freezes when a fat boy he recognises as one of the Pack is stepping inside.

The boy is looking red in his face from the running and is breathing heavily. Himuro sees him looking around, but the boy doesn't bother to look down. After a quick scan of the classroom the Pack member decides that the person he is looking for isn't there. With a huff, the boy resumes his run with the rest of the Pack. Himuro stays still under the desk for a few more seconds. Then he slowly walks to the open door.

Looking outside shows him that Ryo and his friends aren't there any longer. Himuro doesn't think twice and sprints back to where he came from. He is even more agile in his cat form than when he is human, he has no problem with darting between legs and feet on his way to the exit.

Once Himuro is out of the school, he's too busy checking behind him to see where he's going. Because of that he runs straight into another person. Himuro trips, but quickly rolls back on his paws to look up at the person he ran into. His grey eyes widen and the hair on his back stands up. 

Obviously, this day could get worse. The person that was towering over him was none other than Murasakibara Atsushi.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! Thank you so much for the kudos and the comments <3\. It really encouraged me to write more. So here is already the second chapter. Chapter 3 will probably be posted in another week. Again, feel free to comment on anything. Enjoy~

Himuro stands frozen in his place. If he runs now, would he be fast enough to outrun the guy? With his luck, he probably trips over his own legs while running away. Himuro looks anxiously at what the giant will do. But Murasakibara just stares at him surprised. He looks puzzled while inspecting the cat. Like he tries to figure out where he has seen him before.

Oh no. Himuro flicks his tail fidgety. Please don't let him be recognized. All this time he worked so hard on keeping his soulanimal a secret. He can't be unmasked like this! Then Murasakibara crouches before him, his hand reaching for him.

Himuro shuts his eyes and tenses, dreading whatever will happen. But seconds pass. And nothing happens. He carefully opens his eyes and sees a hand outstretched before him. Murasakibara is holding his hand before Himuro's nose as an invitation. The cat looks at the other guy's face, but he can't read what the guy is thinking. But it doesn’t look like he will grab or hit him.

Hesitantly Himuro sniffs Murasakibara's hand. It smells like sweets. Suddenly he can't stop the urge to rub his head against that hand. He presses his head in the palm of Murasakibara's hand and then the guy's fingers start scratching behind his ear.

And oh gosh. That. Feels. Amazing.

Himuro leans closer to get more of that amazing feeling. He then hears a purring sound slowly getting louder. Wait. That sound comes from him! Shocked Himuro realises what he is doing and he immediately pulls back from the hand.

This is Murasakibara, the guy that scares the whole school. The biggest most dangerous guy in a radius of a hundred yards. The guy that scares Himuro to his core, just by sitting next to him. But apparently also the guy that knows exactly how to pet him in a way to make him purr in public.

Himuro hadn't expected that. He sits back confused. Murasakibara takes that as his cue to stand up again. 

"Mind your step, little cat." He says in a low voice. In his inability to talk, all Himuro can do is stare back. Then Murasakibara turs around and walks away with a last wave to the cat. Himuro stays sitting there for a few more seconds, until he remembers that he was in a hurry to get away. Still dazed, he walks home. Did that really just happen?

At home Himuro realizes that, by going home as a cat, he didn't take his homework with him. And there is a deadline tomorrow. Also, his clothes are still laying in that classroom. He has to pick those up before someone sees them. Okay, maybe this was not a good plan. With a sigh Himuro changes back, puts on other clothes and heads back to the school.

~

The next day Himuro walks in to the classroom, he sees Murasakibara already sitting there. He is eating some chips while looking out of the window. Suddenly Himuro gets nervous. He steals a glance at the giant when he sits down. But Murasakibara doesn't notice him. Or if he has, he had decided to ignore him.

Himuro takes his book for this class out of his bag and tries to watch the other guy as inconspicuously as he can. But he doesn't see anything that indicates that Murasakibara knows about his soulanimal. Maybe he wasn't found out yesterday?

It would be more logical that Murasakibara only wanted to pet a random cat. He surely hadn't done that if he knew that that cat was actually his classmate... Right? Himuro sighs and puts his head on his arms on the table. The teacher comes in and everyone gives him their greeting.

The lesson starts, but Himuro finds it hard to pay attention. His mind keeps wandering to Murasakibara. Shall the giant pet him again if Himuro walks up to him like a cat? He doesn't understand why, but that thought gives him a smile on his face. He really liked the way Murasakibara gave him that attention. Maybe he is going crazy. Wanting to get caressed by a terrifying person can't be the sanest thing to feel.

Himuro looks to the side and sees that Murasakibara is now paying attention to the board. An empty chips bag lays still on his table. His facial expression is bored, but he is still focused. Suddenly, as if Murasakibara feels his eyes on him, he looks back at Himuro. Their gazes meet and for a moment neither looks away. Then Murasakibara tilts his head and raises one brow in question.

Himuro's heart decides to complicate the matters and starts hammering way too fast for the situation. A blush spreads over Himuro's face and he quickly averts his head. He can still see Murasakibara watching him in the corner of his eyes, but he busies himself with writing something the teacher said down.

The things he writes down are probably useless, because Himuro doesn’t even know what the man is talking about. After a few more moments Murasakibara looks away. Himuro keeps taking notes, but his thoughts already start to wander. What was that? His heart is still beating so loud that Himuro worries someone will hear. First calm down. Yes, let's do that. Just breathe in. And out.

Gosh he is acting like a little girl with a crush. Get a grip Himuro. He combs his hand through his hair, putting his lock perfectly before his eye. Wait. His hand stills. Crush? He really can't have a crush already. And surely not on a guy way out of his league. Himuro knows how people look at him.

He knows he looks kind of nice. But he is also smart enough to know that such a predator as a black bear would never even think about a little cat. Slowly he lowers his hand back to his table and grabs his pen. He doesn’t continue taking notes though. Himuro is only staring to the board in the front. Trying to listen to the teacher but failing miserably. He doesn't have a crush. His heart was only beating so fast because he was scared.

Yes, that is it. He is just scared. Himuro feeds himself those lies, even when he knows that he can never be afraid of a person that is able to caress his cat so gently. But the lie is better than the alternative. 

Determined Himuro decides to stop thinking about his neighbour, and forces himself to focus. It goes fine, until the bell for the lunch break rings. Murasakibara stands up and immediately Himuro's attention is back on him. The giant stands out in the crowd on his way out of the classroom. Probably on his way to the canteen for food. It amazes Himuro how much that giant can eat. But then again it doesn't, the guy is big enough to need a lot more calories than the average man.

Himuro is so in his thoughts that he doesn't see Ryo with two of his friends walking into the classroom, right to his table.

"Himuro." Ryo stops right next to his table. 

"We were looking for you yesterday." He says, his eyes have a dangerous shimmer in them. Himuro looks around and sees that the rest of the class stopped their talking and that they are now all looking at them. He knows that they won't come to help him. But then again, because he is in this classroom, Ryo can't hurt him. Himuro jumps in his chair when Ryo slams his hand on his table.

"I am talking to you!" He says while towering over him. Himuro cringes for a second, but then fixes his composure. With a slow breath, he tries to make his body language relax. He can do this, he is smarter than these guys, just calm down.

"Ah, you were? You might have just missed me then. What's up?" Himuro says with a confident smile. He might be no match against them, but they don't know that yet. Ryo glares at him. The Pack boys, two first years Himuro hadn’t seen before, cross their arms in unison. Himuro would have laughed is he wasn't in such a pinch.

"You know damn well what's up. You snitched on us, and told the teachers where we were while skipping." Himuro's fakes a surprised face. He might have done something like that. But they can't prove that, right?

"What? Where did you get that from? Really, why should I do that? I don't care if you guys want to skip these boring lessons." He says, an honest expression on his face. Yeah, Himuro thinks, you can skip as much as you want, dumbass. Stay dumb as long as you like.

Ryo looks a bit taken aback. He probably hadn't expected that reaction. Maybe he thought that Himuro would beg for forgiveness. He can dream on then, Himuro wouldn't beg for anything, not in a million years. The other two guys look expectantly to their leader.

"I have my recourses." Is all Ryo answers.

"Hmm." Himuro hums, as if he was really overthinking everything. "But are you sure that they are reliable? I mean, a lot of people just want an excuse to talk to you." He shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Not that I blame them, it is difficult to collect the courage to talk to the people you look up to." Himuro leans a bit more forward and the three guys automatically do the same. "You know the way people look up to you, don't you?" Himuro says a little softer, as if he is sharing a secret. This immediately buffs Ryo's already too large ego.

"Of course I do." Ryo says, standing proud. "I already know that." He continues happily. Himuro used flattering. It is super effective! Himuro starts to grin.

"Well." He says while standing up from his place and laying a friendly hand on the leader shoulder. "I'm happy that this misunderstanding is solved then." He tells the three guys.

"If you excuse me now, I need a toilet break." Himuro says and walks away. In the reflection of the window he sees that the Pack starts to talk to each other, but they don't follow him. A deep sigh escapes him. 

He really hates those stupid people. Though he might not be as strong as Ryo, he is still smarter. And if he needs to bend the truth a little and deceive Ryo to win, then that is what he will do.


	3. Chapter 3

Himuro doesn't go to the toilet. He walks around the school to calm his nerves and ends up in the canteen. There he chooses to buy himself a soda. When he stands by the machine he spots a familiar purple head. Himuro puts a coin in the vending machine and picks something random.

Meanwhile he is watching Murasakibara eating his lunch by himself. The chairs around him are free, people are clearly too scared to get closer. Murasakibara is just looking at his food and he doesn't pay attention to his surroundings. Either he doesn't see it, or he doesn't mind. Or, a voice whispers in the back of Himuro's mind, he does. But maybe Murasakibara is just used to sitting alone.

That thought makes Himuro gloomy and he tries to not think about that again. He opens his soda and puts a step aside so the machine is free for others. The first taste is refreshing and a sigh escapes Himuro's mouth. He looks at the clock and plans to head back to the classroom before the corridors become too crowded.

Back in his class he sees that luckily Ryo and his friends decided to head somewhere else. Content Himuro sits himself down. He doesn't know for sure if he has Ryo completely off his tail, but at least he managed to get Ryo on another track. He probably wouldn't be bothered again, if he lays low. And that is exactly Himuro's plan. Slowly the classroom gets crowded again while the break enters its final minutes.

One of the people entering the classroom is a small blond boy with wide green eyes. Himuro smiles when he sees him walking towards him.

"Hey Himuro, what did Ryo want from you?" Nishino asks him concerned while halting next to his table.

"Oh nothing really, he heard something wrong and wanted to know the truth." Himuro answers swiftly. He likes Nishino, he would call him one of his best friends, but he doesn’t want to worry him.

Himuro doesn't like to hang around in a group of people, he likes it more one-on-one. Probably the cat in him. Nishino is one of the guys Himuro mostly talks to nowadays. He feels really comfortable when he is around Nishino, that guy is probably another feline. Not that Himuro had ever asked.

"Ah well, I am glad to hear there's nothing wrong, you should have heard that guy yesterday at in the corridors, yelling. Pathetic actually." Nishino says, but then quickly looks around.

"But you didn't hear me say that." He says shyly. Himuro smiles up to his friend.

"Of course not." He says with a wink. Nishino is one of the regular targets of the Pack's bullying. Himuro tries to help him whenever he can. But he knows that he can't always be around his friend to save him. 

It makes Himuro angry to know how scared Ryo can make Nishino and sometimes Himuro really wants to step up and beat Ryo up for all he has done. But he knows that he won't be able to do that. He doesn't have the power for it. One day... one day Ryo will get what he deserves.

"It sucks that you were placed all the way at the other side of the class man." Nishino says.

"Who can I distract during these boring lessons now?" Himuro laughs when he hears that but swiftly answers.

"Well maybe that cute blond girl that sits behind you? Oh no, don't deny it, I've seen the way you looked at her, man. I know that look." Nishino blushes furiously and leans closer.

"Don't say that so loud. What if someone hears you?" Mischief shines in Himuro's eyes the moment he hears that.

"You want everyone to hear? I can help you with that." He stands up and brings his hands to his mouth, as if he wants to yell something loudly. In panic Nishino yelps and he throws his hands before Himuro's mouth.

"No, no, Himuro don't you dare." He hisses and while looking around nervously with his wide green eyes. But Himuro starts laughing softly.

"Oh Nishino, I'm only joking." He says while stomping him lightly on his shoulder. Nishino rolls his eyes and stomps back.

“Don’t scare me like that!” He says with a huff. But then he also starts laughing. Yet, his smile immediately falls when he is looks behind himself. Murasakibara got back from his lunch. And in now walking to his seat.

“Don’t tell anyone, Himuro! Swear it.” Nishino says fast while keeping an eye on the giant.

“I solemnly swear.” Himuro says with a playful smile. Nishino looks at him quickly and grins.

“Good, see you later!” He responds and turns around to walk to his own seat. The little blonde hunches when he walks past the giant, but Murasakibara doesn’t pay him any attention. 

Murasakibara sits down next to Himuro exactly in time with the ringing of the bell. The giant gives him a nod as greeting and then starts looking disinterested at the board. Himuro nods back, even when Murasakibara isn't looking anymore. He grabs his books for the next lesson, and while rumbling through his bag, he sees his lunch. 

Shit, he forgot to eat. The teacher chooses that moment to step in the classroom. Oh joy, now he must wait until the lessons are over.That will be some boring, hungry hours. Himuro slouches back in his chair. Let's get this party started.

~

The next days, Himuro pays more attention to Murasakibara in the lunch breaks. He notices that the guy always sits on his own. It makes Himuro feel bad. The idea of Murasakibara feeling lonely comes into his mind and it won’t leave. But he doesn't dare to approach the guy.

He is still scary, and they haven't even spoken to each other, so it will be weird to suddenly accompany him with his lunch. Right? But Himuro keeps getting the feeling that he wants to do something. 

That weekend, after giving it a lot of thought, Himuro makes a plan. He directly brings the plan in motion next Monday. In the lunch break he goes to the abandoned toilet on the third floor.

There he locks himself in in one of the stalls. He puts the lid of the toilet down, just in case, and closes his eyes. After he steps out of his clothes, he puts them on a pile. Then Himuro slides under the stall door, and walks outside the toilet.

He looks around carefully. People mustn’t see that he came in like a human and out like a cat. That would blow his cover. But the corridor is empty. Quickly he runs to the canteen. 

The canteen itself looks even more crowded through cat's eyes. Himuro walks around fast, between legs and under tables. And then he stops under the only table that got solely one person on it. The length of the legs confirms it for Himuro that he is on the right place. He takes a deep breath.

He just wants to give Murasakibara a little company. That is all. This has nothing to do with the amazing feeling Himuro gets when Murasakibara pets him. Not at all. Well... Maybe a tiny little bit. 

He goes to sit next to the chair of the giant and lets out a soft meow. Murasakibara head turns away from his food. He looks around him but doesn't look down to Himuro. So Himuro meows again. This time Murasakibara sees him. He looks down at him curiously.

"What are you doing here, little cat?" Himuro almost snorts at being called 'little ' again. But well, for that guy everything must be little so he can't say that he is wrong. Himuro just meows again. It is not like he can answer Murasakibara. But he knows that, despite losing his voice, he can still communicate. That is, if you are paying attention.

He looks at the chair and back at the giant and back at the chair again. And to his surprise, Murasakibara already understands. The giant puts the chair back, so that Himuro can jump onto it. From his seat, he can barely see over the table. Himuro flicks his tail when he sees the lunch of the giant. That looks tasty. But he doesn't pay it more attention than he should. After all, cats don't eat human food.

Now that he's sitting besides Murasakibara, he suddenly doesn't know what he should do. He isn't scared to sit here anymore. All those hours in the classroom erased that fear. Himuro decides to get comfortable on the chair and just look around the canteen. Just as he puts his head on his paws he feels a hand on his head.

He sees that Murasakibara is still eating his food with one hand. The other he now uses to cares Himuro. And gosh, that hand is warm and big and Himuro melts in his chair. He even rolls over a little in the space he has. 

Unintentionally Himuro starts to purr happily. This time he doesn't turn away from the hand. He just enjoys the moment and doesn't care that people can hear him. After a few more minutes Himuro looks at the clock. It is hard to see from his place in his chair, but he thinks that the break is almost over. He stands up. The hand that was still caressing him still hovers in the air.

"You're going already?" Murasakibara asks. He looks disappointed. Himuro only answers with a meow and jumps out of the chair. On the floor he stretches himself and looks around at the giant. There Himuro sees something he hasn't seen before. Murasakibara is looking back at him, a little smile is playing around his mouth.

"Bye then." The guy says. Himuro then starts running back to the third floor. There he changes back when he is sure that nobody else is around. All back in clothes again, he gets out of the stall and stands before the mirror.

He washes his hands automatically, meanwhile his head is back by the little smile that was on Murasakibara's face. He now realizes that he had never seen him smile. Himuro feels giggly when he thinks about how that smile was for him only. And right there, he promises himself that he will make more of those smiles appear on that guy's face.

Full of energy he gets back to his class. He has just enough time to prop his lunch in his mouth before the bell rings and the other students start coming back to their place. Himuro acts like he is engrossed in something he is reading on his phone, so that he doesn't have to see Murasakibara walking inside. He does hear him sit down.

Himuro looks up and nods at Murasakibara. He only gets a nod back before the teacher asks them all for their attention. The rest of the day Himuro deliberately doesn't look at Murasakibara. 

If he had, he might have noticed how Murasakibara eyes shone a little brighter than usual.


	4. Chapter 4

Himuro noticed that his lessons were easier to follow after joining Murasakibara in the canteen. He just couldn't be afraid of the guy that caresses his fur so gently. He relaxes more and he even dares to look at Murasakibara now. Though the giant still doesn't take any other action in communication than the nod every morning. Now Himuro thinks about it... The guy says even more to him when he is a cat, than when he is human. Well, let's not reflect about that too much, shall we? 

Himuro decides to stay in the classroom during lunch break the next two days after visiting Murasakibara at lunch. He doesn't want Murasakibara to presume that he will be there often. But on the third day, Himuro goes back to the toilet on the third floor and locks himself in.

Himuro doesn't want to know what people are thinking about him, going to the toilet the whole break. It might give others even weirder ideas than him being a little cat. He hopes that his classmates won't pay him enough attention to notice. Himuro shifts and after he is sure that he put his clothes on a save place, he goes to the canteen. Not many people look at him twice in his cat form. It isn't that weird that a cat (or any other animal for that sake) walks around these corridors.

Back at the canteen Himuro goes straight to the purple haired guy in the back. He meows immediately when he arrives, a bit too eager maybe. But Murasakibara looks down and his eyes goes soft after seeing the cat.

"Back again?" He asks. Murasakibara pushes the chair next to him a little back, like the last time, and Himuro jumps on it while giving a happy meow. Murasakibara offers his hand again and Himuro nuzzles his nose against it in encouragement. If Murasakibara knew that the cat was him, would he still pet him like this?

"I hadn't expected you to come back." Murasakibara says to the cat a bit surprised. Himuro looks up and meows disapprovingly. Then that little smile appears on Murasakibara's face. It is a nice smile, which makes his eyes look even sweeter.

Oh, wow wait. Stop right there. He agreed with himself to not fall in love with this guy. And he can't break a promise with himself, right? Besides, he was doing so well ignoring the little butterflies in his stomach. No, he knows, he is not in love. He doesn't even like the guy. Or the way he is caressed right now. And he definitely does not like the way Murasakibara is smiling at him right now.

Oh gosh, who was he kidding. The warm feeling that spreads through his body is amazing. The silence that follows is only broken by the purring from Himuro. Murasakibara continues with eating his lunch and petting his company. The cat gives Murasakibara, without knowing, more than just his company. The giant loves his food, but everything tastes better when you're not eating alone. Even if that someone is in the form of a cat.

When Himuro finds himself staring at Murasakibara for over a minute, he purposely looks away. He sees that some girls are pointing at him from a distance. They are whispering enthusiastically to each other. He flicks his tail agitated. If they are already talking like that, then it won't be long before more people are going to talk about him. He puts his head on his paws again and decides to not pay attention to it. Himuro almost forgets the time while lying next to Murasakibara like that. Murasakibara then states to no one in particular.

"Ahh, too bad that the break is almost over." Directly Himuro's head shoots up. What? Already? He looks at the clock at the wall and almost falls of the chair in his hurry. The bell can ring any moment now and he still has to put all his clothes back on! 

Himuro runs out of the canteen, without being able to say bye to the giant. He never ran that fast through the school and he arrives in the toilet the moment the bell rings. In a hurry, he puts everything back on. After that he just gives himself one glance in the mirror to check how he looks, and then he sprints to his class. Miraculously, he arrives just in time. The teacher already stands for the class, about to begin his lesson. Himuro receives a disappointed glare from the man, but he can sit down without a reprimand.

He sits down out of breath and dares not to look at Murasakibara. This is really suspicious, isn't it? He is about to give the guy an excuse for his late arrival, but then he realizes that he actually doesn't talk to the giant. It would be even weirder if he starts speaking to him now. So Himuro just keeps quiet and takes notes from the lesson. When the last bell finally rings, he directly leaves the class with a quick nod as goodbye.

~

It doesn't even take a day before the whole school is aware of the cat that visits the terrifying guy in the canteen. Himuro hears many different opinions and ideas about that. There is a story, that the cat actually is Murasakibara's cat. And that the cat either has a death wish or that Murasakibara has forced him to come here. That last one makes Himuro laugh. How did they imagine that Murasakibara made a cat to come to the canteen? Cats are even harder to teach things to than dogs. They are way too stubborn for that.

Himuro also hears some people speculate about the cat being an soulanimal. They assume that the person from the soulanimal must be indebted or something. And, so they reason, the cat pays back his debt with doing everything that Murasakibara tells him. Yeah, right. It amazes Himuro that he doesn't hear a single positive story about the giant. Okay, maybe he feared Murasakibara at first. But now that he gets to know the giant more, he sees that he is actually a sweet person.

It makes Himuro feel bad for the guy. He hopes fiercely that Murasakibara doesn't hear all those awful stories. Maybe Himuro made everything even worse for the giant by visiting him in the canteen? But if that is true, then he can't stop visiting now. He made this rumour, and now he will live up to it. Though, before he joins Murasakibara in the canteen again, he needs to do something else.

Himuro realizes that he hadn't even introduced himself the first day. He knows that by now he passed the right time to just say 'hey, nice to meet you' long ago. But he wants to talk to Murasakibara. He must introduce himself properly at least. And he knows exactly the way how he is going to do that. Himuro thought about how Murasakibara is always eating snacks and he realized that that would be his opening. Today he had a bag of candy in his backpack. Now he only needed an opportunity.

The first lesson of the day was already coming to its end when Himuro found this right timing. The teachers changed between this lessons, and the next one was always late. The bell rings and the teacher starts packing his things. Himuro sees that as his cue to grab the candy out of his bag. It is the sweet kind of candy, one he likes himself. He opens the bag and puts one of the red gummies in his mouth. Ah, so sweet. He glances to his side and finds that his plan is working. Murasakibara is looking at the bag in Himuro's hand. Himuro stretches his arm in the other's direction. Offering the giant one.

Murasakibara looks between Himuro and the bag. Himuro hopes that the guy would accept the candy, otherwise he doesn't know what to do next. He just gives the other a reassuring smile and says.

"Want one?". With a nod Murasakibara accepts and takes a candy. Himuro's smile widens when Murasakibara gives him a small "Thank you." Now is the moment.

"By the way, my name is Himuro Tatsuya. Sorry that I haven't introduced myself earlier." Himuro tells the other kindly. Murasakibara looks surprised that Himuro is really talking to him. But then answers formally.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Murasakibara Atsushi." So, Atsushi is his first name.

"Ah, yes, nice to meet you too, Atsushi. Can I call you Atsushi?" Himuro asks. He knows that it might be too much to ask. First names are usually only used by close friends. But Himuro hopes that Murasakibara at least understands that he wants to be friends.

Murasakibara looks a bit taken aback. Himuro isn't sure but it almost looks like the guy is flustered. Right on that moment the next teacher enters the room and starts the lesson. Himuro can strangle that man right now, couldn't he wait just one more minute? He grins to Murasakibara one last time and then focuses on the lesson, a little disappointed. The teacher is already talking when Himuro hears his neighbour speaking softly. It takes him by surprise, but then he processes his words.

"I wouldn't mind". Himuro turns to Murasakibara. For a second he just looks surprised, then a big smile beams from his face.

Without another word, he shoves the candy bag closer to his neighbour's table and takes one red gummy himself. After a minute Murasakibara- no Atsushi, reaches also for the bag. Maybe it is actually quite nice that the teacher had seated him in the back of the class. He takes one more look at the giant. But his eyes stay glued to the others face. On Atsushi's face was a little smile.

Himuro managed to make the giant smile! Without being a cat! Himuro manages to looks away from the beautiful sight when Atsushi takes another gummy out of the bag. His head feels warm and he is undoubtedly blushing. But Himuro doesn't mind. He must correct his earlier statement. It is not solely nice, it is amazing that the teacher had seated him in the back of the class.


	5. Chapter 5

In the days that follow Himuro slips into a pleasant routine. The lessons next to Atsushi are mostly quiet. But they are comfortable. They also have a few conversations every day.

It is not about much. Just about the homework or something silly like the weather. But it is more than Himuro had whished for. And in the lunch break, Himuro accompanies Atsushi as a cat. Himuro has learned to eat his lunch before he goes to the canteen. That way he can stay there as long as possible.

This continues for a few weeks. And Himuro never liked going to school more. He even starts to know Atsushi. The giant played basketball, but he told Himuro that it was a boring game, meant for tall people only. Himuro disagreed. He told him that, even when you don't have the advantages of being tall, you can still develop skills to surpass people taller than you. Atsushi hummed disapprovingly at that, but didn't say anything more about it.

Himuro still thinks about that conversation when he changes into his cat. He knows what Atsushi means. He sees it every day around him. Taller or stronger people does have it easier in many ways than small people. But he still thinks that being tall, or strong, doesn't determines everything.

He shrugs the thoughts away and walks to the canteen. For a second he questions himself. He is talking to Atsushi right now. So maybe he can just accompany him in the canteen as well, without being a cat?

But Himuro adores the time when he is with the giant as his cat, not only because he loves to be caressed. Everything just seems easier when he is a cat. Maybe he will try to approach Atsushi as a human another time.

Himuro finds his place next to Atsushi again. He is just laying down when he hears people approaching their table. Curious, Himuro sits up. Who would just approach Atsushi now? Then he sees an unpleasant answer. It is the Pack. Of course, it is be them, who else would dare to just walk up to the giant.

Ryo stops besides Atsushi, his expression haughty. Four more guys are with him. Among them is Ryo’s right hand, the brown haired tall boy, and the fat boy who almost found Himuro when he had shifted in the classroom. What do they want?

Atsushi doesn't give them his attention and continues eating while petting Himuro. Ryo looks around. Probably checking if his backup is still there. After the blonde gets the reassurance that he doesn't stand alone he clears his throat.

"So, they say that you are so strong. But we haven't ever seen any of that." He starts talking to Atsushi. The giant looks up with a bored expression. He doesn't answer Ryo, he just hums at the guy unimpressed. 

Himuro stands on his four paws now to see what is going on. What could be so important that it made Atsushi stop petting him? When Ryo sees that he doesn't get a response, he continues. Talking louder this time.

"You know, I first thought that you were a big thing, when I heard about you. Murasakibara, the great black bear! But you are just as weak as the others, aren't you?" His gaze flickers to Himuro and a mean grin appears on his face.

"Even cats aren't afraid of you." He chants loudly. The guys behind him start to laugh, as if Ryo just made a hilarious joke. Himuro looks around and sees that they are making a scene. The whole canteen is looking their way. Atsushi glares at the Pack and murmurs.

"So noisy." Ryo doesn't hear him, but he does see the giant talking.

"Huh? What you're saying?" He asks, taking a threating pose. Atsushi looks at him unconcerned.

"I said, you are too noisy. Go away." He declares with a lazy voice.

"Or what?" The blonde says rough. "You scare us away with your big bear?" He laughs aloud.

"Well give us your best shot, we are not afraid of you." Himuro starts feeling really uncomfortable right now. He wants to speak up. He wants to talk back at Ryo. And he desperately wants to scream to Atsushi that he doesn't have to let Ryo talk to him like that. But he can't say anything in this body.

"Yeah, show us." The brown-haired guy says with a scowl. "We're not scared." The rest of the Pack backs Ryo up with similar words. Frustrated, Himuro jumps upon the table and starts hissing fiercely.

"Oh look, you are being protected by a little kitty." Ryo laughs and the other guys start laughing too. Atsushi wends his attention to Himuro and starts patting him on his head.

"Ssh little cat, don't let them bother you." He murmurs. Then he glares at the Pack. "The little puppies are just being very foolish." Ryo hears that and snaps visibly.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" He screams while invading Atsushi's personal space. With his face close to Atsushi's he spats.

"How dare you call US puppies! I will show you just who the foolish one is. Fight me and we will see! I will defeat you!!" Ryo screams, spit flying anywhere. The seconds that follow are filled with a heavy silence. Everyone seems to hold their breath. Then Atsushi stands up, towering over the blonde. Ryo is glaring aggressively.

But the next moment Atsushi grabs his plate and turns around. Over his shoulder, he answers.

"I'm not interested." And walks away, leaving the Pack staring at him dumbfounded. "Let's go find a quieter place little cat." He tells Himuro. Himuro is still standing on the table and is now glaring daggers at Ryo. But Ryo isn't done yet.

"What, you’re scared?" He scoffs. That makes Atsushi stand still. He looks back irritated.

"I am not." He declared. Ryo seems to enjoy the insulting and just laughs.

"Yes, you are. You're a coward." He declares with a booming voice. Atsushi's eyes screw together annoyed. The air around him darkens.

"I would crush you." He says lowly, the power radiating from his voice. Some guys from the Pack take a step back, intimidated by the giant. But the blonde doesn't know when to stop.

"Yeah? Well I don't think so, you are just a scared creep and when I'm finished with you- ARGH!" Suddenly little paws with sharp nails are scratching in his face. 

Himuro's body is tense with rage. It became red for his eyes. All he could think of was making this guy bleed. You don't talk about Atsushi like that! He bores his sharp nails in Ryo's face while the blonde starts yelling.

The guy hadn't paid attention to the cat, so the attack was a total shock. He steps back, but because he can't see where he is walking, he trips over the chair and falls back on his ass.

"WHAT THE-" He screams. The whole scene must look very funny, because the canteen fills with laughter. Ryo finally manages to pull the cat of his head and throws him away.

Himuro lands perfectly on his paws, thank the cat's anatomy for that. He immediately walks to Atsushi, his hair still standing high on his back. Ryo gets back up, looking furiously at Himuro. But before he can say a word, Atsushi states loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I won't fight a guy who can be floored by a cat." Well, it was the chair that made Ryo trip, but Himuro doesn't want to correct him anyway. By then the blonde realises that the people around him are laughing at him. He looks around uncomfortably.

Ha, it hurts being made fun of, doesn't it? Himuro watches the guy, enjoying the sight. Ryo gives Himuro a last enraged glare. Then he hisses.

"This isn't over." And stomps away. Himuro is still shaking with anger when a hand caresses his fur. It takes away the tension in his body and Himuro looks up. Atsushi is crouched next to him, his plate still in one hand. He looks in a bad mood, but when Himuro meows to him, a little smile pulls on his mouth.

"Thank you, little cat, but you don't need to protect me. I can take those guys. Are you hurt?" He says softly. Himuro shakes his head. If there was ever an uncertainty if he was a soulanimal or not, then his actions cleared that up now.

The bell rings. Himuro knows he has to hurry, but he doesn't want to leave Atsushi.

"Hmm, take care." Atsushi says, and then stands up. Himuro meows one last time and runs out of the canteen. 

~

The next hours are again full of gossip. It almost looks like the whole school was present at the scene and everyone's talking about it. The hot topic is how the little cat manages to floor Ryo. Ryo might have been popular, but right now he is the focus of mockery.

Atsushi stays the whole day in a foul mood and Himuro decides that it is better to not disturb the guy. When the day is over, Atsushi stands up and walks away after a quick bye to Himuro. The class stares after him and then starts a discussion again. Himuro sighs. This is a mess. With a happy bounce in his steps, Nishino comes up to his table.

"Dude, have you seen what happened in the lunch break?" He says enthusiastically. Himuro almost wants to make an obvious retort. Of course, he has. He was there himself. But if he says that, he might expose himself. Because, what if Nishino was there too, but hadn't seen him there. Then how can he explain that?

"I haven't seen it. But I heard about it." Himuro chooses to answer. Nishino almost jumps in his excitement.

"It was so awesome. Ryo thought that Murasakibara might not be as strong as suggested. Which is stupid but well, it is Ryo. Not that I don't understand the guy. I mean, we've never seen him display his strength or anything, have we? And then the story about that cat made him look softer." Nishino tells Himuro, his words are coming out like an unstoppable stream.

"So, Ryo must have thought that he could handle the giant." Nishino laughs and slams his hand on his thigh.

"And then! He couldn't even stand up against that little cat!" Nishino looks happily at Himuro.

"Really that cat is my hero. I mean, if even a little cat can stand up against Ryo, then I might be able to do that too. You know what I'm saying?" Himuro feels a warmth spreading in his body. He did that? He made Nishino more confident?

"That is awesome." He tells Nishino.

"Yeah," Nishino says. "Though I hope we never find out who the cat is." Himuro scowls confused.

"Huh, why?" Not that he wants to be find out either. But the way Nishino says it gives him an ominous feeling.

"Well, you know Ryo wouldn't rest before he has restored his dignity. And right now, the only way to do that is by showing he is stronger than that cat in any way." The realization strikes Himuro. Nishino is right.

"And we both know how aggressive Ryo can be... " Shit, shit, shit, this looks really bad for Himuro. How hadn't he realized this before?

"Ah yeah, well hopefully that cat won't get caught." Himuro says gloomy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone~ Thank you all for still reading this story. I love all your cute comments. They really make my day! I changed my writing style a little, I hope that it is easier to read now. Again, keep commenting if there is something that bothers you. I'm still trying this site out and feedback is always welcome. ~  
> Enjoy <3


	6. Chapter 6

Himuro was extra careful the next day, he even avoided turning into his cat that lunch break. He had taken a bag of candy with him, as an excuse for not being there in the break. He knows that it wouldn't count as a real excuse, because Atsushi doesn’t know that he is the cat. But taking it with him did sooth his conscious a little.

Himuro really enjoys sitting next to Atsushi now. The guy was quiet but not in a bad way. He talks to Himuro when he was asked a question. He even explained Himuro how some equations worked when Himuro struggled with keeping up with the teacher. But the giant himself usually didn’t take the initiative to start a conversation. Maybe he wasn’t talkative because he wasn't used to be able to talk to someone.

The day goes by slowly and at the end, Himuro really feels like he missed something. While walking home that day, he decides that he will go back to the canteen tomorrow. He can be careful and keep his cat a secret, he hadn’t done anything else in his whole life. And if he just watches Ryo closely, he can keep doing what he always does.

So the next day, he goes to the toilet on the third floor again and transforms. When Himuro walks into the canteen that day, he is met with a lot of curious eyes. The most are just curious but others appear even happy to see him. Some guys are even looking at him as if he is a hero. Himuro snorts at that. After all, he hadn’t really floored the biggest bully. The chair did all the work.

He finds Atsushi and walks up to the guy. The giant had already shoved the chair a bit back, as if he was expecting Himuro. For a second Himuro feels bad for skipping yesterday, but those thoughts wash away the moment Atsushi gives him a small smile.

"Hello." Says the giant. Himuro meows back in greeting and sits at his place in the chair. Thankfully no one tries to interrupt their lunch this time. Or Atsushi's lunch and Himuro's attention-time. It is just them together. Himuro purrs loudly, and doesn't allows Atsushi to stop petting him.

Even when the giant wants to use both hands to eat, the cat won’t let him. Himuro just grabs his hand back with his tiny paws. Not with his nails out of course, he knows how to be gently. 

It looks like Atsushi can laugh at that, so Himuro gets bolder and when the other guy takes his hand back again to open a bag, he just follows the arm all the way up to Atsushi’s lap. That makes the guy stop his doings. Surprized he looks down at the cat who makes himself comfortable on his lap.

"You are persistent." He says lowly, but he pets the cat’s head lovingly. In his new position Himuro allows the giant to use his both hands for his lunch. He stretches his paws and lays down, this place is so much better than the cold chair.

Himuro knows that his behaviour might be a bit over the top. And if he could blush, he was probably beet red. He won't stop this though. He already stopped fighting against his feelings, so why should he hold back right now?

Himuro knows that Atsushi might never let him come this close if he knew that the cat was him. Atsushi allowed him to befriend him, that is true. But more than that? Very unlikely. And right now, Himuro knows that his identity of his cat is in danger. He is careful, but it makes him think about 'what if.' What if he is exposed? Then he can’t be this close to Atsushi again, not so comfortably. That thought makes Himuro extra bold.

He flicks his tail and looks around for a clock, lunch time would be almost over now. Atsushi is also clearing up his plate. Before he stands up he pats with his hand on Himuro's flank. Himuro turns his head so he could see the giant’s face. Purple eyes are boring into him. His gaze looks concerned.

"Say, if Ryo ever bothers you... you can tell me. Okay?" Atsushi says softly. Himuro stares up at the giant in awe. Did Atsushi just declared that he would protect him? Just, wow. His mind stops for a second.

He had always claimed that it was not necessary to be strong. He was content without having great powers and he thought that strength wouldn’t make a difference. But right now, Himuro gets the feeling of being protected by somebody strong. And he must admit, this feels amazing. It feels save.

Himuro stands up on Atsushi's lap, and nuzzles his head against the giant’s chest as thanks. Another purr escapes him and he feels an arm wrapping around him tentatively. Atsushi holds him close to his chest for a moment. Himuro feels himself purring louder than he ever had and enjoys the moment in the giant’s arms.

But a nagging voice in his head warns Himuro that he has to go. He can’t be late for the next lesson. Reluctantly, he squirms out of the embrace. Atsushi directly lets go when he understands the cat’s intention and he lets the cat jump on the ground. Himuro gives the giant one last glance and meows at him as a goodbye.

"Bye" Atsushi says after him. Himuro spots Ryo glaring at him from the other side of the canteen, but the guy doesn't get up. Thus, when Himuro ends up on the third floor, without seeing Ryo following him, he lowers his guard. That's why he doesn't notice it when a guy with short brown hair sees him and starts following him.

Unlike normally, Himuro doesn't check if he is alone when walks into the toilet and transforms. The moment he puts on his clothes he hears it though. The flushing of the toilet in the stall next to him. There seriously was someone in here? Himuro freezes and doesn't makes any other sound. Oh shit. Did that guy saw him come in like a cat?

No, that is impossible, right? He just has to wait until the guy is gone and then everything will be alright. The other guy leaves the stall and starts washing his hands. Only when Himuro hears the door of the toilet closing, he can breathe again. That was too close for comfort.

Quickly, he puts on the rest of his clothes and then dashes out of the stall. After checking himself in the mirror he walks out of the toilet. 

He looks around and his eyes meet with the brown eyes of Ryo’s right hand. The brunette is holding another guy at his shirt, just ready to punch him in the face, when he sees Himuro walking out of the toilet.

"I swear, I swear!" The guy that must have been in the toilet before Himuro begs.

"My soul animal is not a cat. I am a raccoon. Here I show you." And the guy then disappears. Before them stands now a little raccoon, shrieking.

Oh shit. Himuro looks back up to the Pack member just as he sees the realization coming over the guy’s face.

"You..." He says determined. But then Himuro is already running. Away from there. While running to his classroom he is swearing so hard in his head. Shit, shit, shit. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Of course would the Pack try to figure out who the cat was. And Ryo was too lazy to look after that himself. So, he has sent his followers to do the job for him.

Himuro curses his carelessness. He thought he was smart? No. He was the stupidest dumbass in the whole school. And now someone knew. And it is not just anybody, but Ryo’s right hand. It was now only a matter of time before Ryo knows it too.

The moment he runs into his classroom he sees Atsushi already sitting there. The guy is still eating some chips, even when he just had his lunch. Himuro slides to halt at his place and slumps down. At least next to Atsushi he's safe. For the rest couple of hours, but after that he's in trouble.

Ooh gosh. Himuro could scream to himself out of frustration. But he doesn't, because he knows that would be stupid. He just buries his face into his arms on the desk and sighs.

"Muro-chin?" Atsushi asks. The new nickname surprises Himuro enough to look up. He must have looked awful because Atsushi furrows his brows at him.

"You okay?" He asks, carefully. Himuro thinks back at the thing the giant said in the canteen. 'If Ryo ever bothers him.' He could just tell Atsushi about it now. He should confess everything, it is the perfect opportunity. He can tell the giant that he is the cat from the canteen and that Ryo is now after him.

But a grim feeling makes him reconsider. He can't pinpoint exactly what holds him back. Maybe it is the caring way that Atsushi looks at him. At the real human him, not just the cat him. Maybe it is the nickname he just used. Or maybe it is just his cowardness. Either way, he doesn't dare to tell him. He is scared for Atsushi's reaction.

What if this ruins everything? Would Atsushi be angry? What if he starts ignoring him like he did when they first met? Himuro doesn't want that. Therefore he just nods with a shaky smile. He grabs his phone as a distraction and starts fiddling with it.

He has nothing to do with it, but it is an excuse to not look at the guy next to him. It works long enough because the bell rings and the teacher comes in and starts his lecture.

The rest of the day Himuro is restless. He keeps tapping with his leg, or clicking with his pen. He is aware of the accusing glares that are shot his way, but he can't stop. He even notices Atsushi looking at him more often than usual. A thoughtful expression is on the guys face, but he can't even care about that.

The time goes by way too fast and suddenly the last bell rings. Himuro tenses. He knows he has two options, either he runs home as fast as he can to avoid Ryo. Or he waits just long enough for Ryo to go home. But then, he probably has to wait till midnight.

So that leaves only the first option; to run. Well, there must be more options, but his stressed brain can't form them now. 

Well here goes nothing. He gets his stuff and with a quick "bye" to Atsushi he leaves the classroom on shaky legs.


	7. Chapter 7

Himuro just makes it to his locker, when a fist out of nowhere slams him in his face. He falls against the lockers with the force of the punch. Disorientated, Himuro tries to regain his balance. But the owner of the fist has already grabbed him at his collar and pushes him now back up against the lockers.

Himuro is not surprised, when he sees that the fist belongs to Ryo. The guy before him is breathing heavily, and looks furious. Around them, everybody stops their movements. Himuro feels all the eyes staring at them.

"YOU!" Ryo roars. The guy doesn't know what to do with his anger and throws Himuro on the ground. Himuro lands on his hands and knees. This will probably hurt tomorrow, but right now Himuro doesn't notice. Himuro knows that he must get out of here. And preferably as soon as possible. He must find a teacher or someone that can help.

He scrambles up to his feet and tries to get away, but two other guys of the Pack block his path. Himuro looks around and sees that he is surrounded. Not only by Ryo, but also by two, no three more guys from the Pack. The brunette that found him outside the toilet is also here. Smirking happily.

Himuro has no chance to get out of here, and he knows it. He is grabbed by his shirt and shoved back against the lockers by one of the Pack members. The four guys are now standing dangerously close.

"Did I said that you could leave?" Ryo says while leaning his hand on the lockers next to Himuro’s head.

"Don't you worry, you can run to your home in a moment. After we are done with you. That is, if you are still able to walk then." A crazy shimmer shines in Ryo’s eyes and then turns around and he shouts to his public.

"ANYONE ELSE WHO THINKS THAT THERE IS ANYONE BETTER THAN ME? WELL LOOK WHAT I WILL DO AND THINK TWICE" And with that he punches Himuro in his gut. Himuro gasps for air and bends over in pain. Are they going to make an example out of him? Well isn't this just his luck?

Ryo pulls him up at his collar again. Himuro tries to kick his attacker and hits at the hands on his shirt, but Ryo is so much stronger. It is like he is trying to move a mountain. Nothing helps. The Pack guys are laughing when Ryo hits Himuro again in his face. His head also slams against the lockers behind him and for a second, Himuro sees stars.

Is this it then? Is this what he gets for standing up for others, for trying to be nice? Himuro tastes blood in his mouth. He doesn't know if it is from biting his tongue, or if Ryo hit a tooth out of his mouth. Himuro sees the next hit coming and braces for the impact. It doesn't help though.

Meanwhile he is trying to focus on escaping. The only thing that he can think of to escape is to change, maybe he can run away as cat? Another fist meats his body and a groan escapes him.

"S-stop." Himuro stammers weakly. But Ryo is only laughing at him.

"Not so brave now your giant friend isn't here, are you. Little cat!?" He spits the last words mockingly. Well if everyone already knows about his soulanimal, then it is worth a try.

Himuro screws his eyes shut and focuses on his cat. He feels himself transforming and falling out of the clothes Ryo is holding. His paws meet the floor and he prepares himself for a run. But before he can take off, a hand grabs him roughly and tilts him from the ground. Sharp claws penetrate themselves in Himuro’s skin.

Okay, bad plan. Himuro realises that he is even more vulnerable like this. Ryo brings him close to his face, his teeth are elongated and his ears are more doglike. The anger brought Ryo's partial transformation out.

Only a few people are able to transform partially. It is more a form of overflowing power, not a form of a good control. Himuro tries to scratch the guy in the face but the claws only gip him tighter. Himuro lets out a pained mewl but he doesn’t give up. Ryo keeps him just far enough from his face to keep him from doing any damage. A nasty grin spreads on the blonde's face, which reveals his fangs.

Himuro hisses at him, but Ryo ignores it and holds him up for his audience to see. Way more people are now standing in the corridor, all looking appalled at the fight that is happening. Still, the teachers are nowhere to be seen. No doubt that the other guys of the Pack are holding them up. That is usual the way Ryo gets himself out of trouble.

"This stupid cat has made a big mistake. Don't try the same, or else you will get the same fate." Ryo announces and he is about to do something to Himuro again when a low voice from behind the crowd speaks up.

"Put. Him. Down" The blonde looks around and is faced with a terrifying glare of Atsushi. The giant is emitting a powerful energy and the people around him scraper frightened away. They clear the way, so that Ryo and Atsushi are now standing face to face. A few people sense the danger of the situation and choose to run away. Two powerful soulanimals facing each other could get pretty nasty.

Himuro sees Ryo gulp, but also baring his fangs to the giant. The Pack guys are looking nervous, but they are loyal to their leader, and don't run away. They do take a few steps back, so they are standing behind Ryo. Ryo doesn't look at them, his predatory focus is now only on the giant. With a growling voice, he says.

"Oh, are you finally ready to fight? Coming to get your little pet back? Don't worry, we already taught him where his place is." Ryo looks at the giant defiantly and laughs. But the laughing stops when a deep, low growl starts coming from Atsushi. It is a terrifying, threading sound.

The last bystanders that are standing in the corridor are deciding that they value their life more than knowing how this will proceed and they quickly walk out of the corridor. Blazing purple eyes are boring into Ryo.

"I said, put him down." Atsushi growls through his teeth. His hands are kept beside him, but the large talons that are growing from his fingers indicate that he is ready to fight. One Pack member loses it and starts running. Ryo sees his mistake the moment the other two guys waver and start rushing out of the corridor.

The brunette gives Ryo one last meaningful look and shouts “Just let it go, man!” before he disappears behind the wall. But Ryo doesn’t listen. Even when all the anger and power that Atsushi radiates washes over him and his instincts scream at him to run, the blonde stays.

Ryo is too proud to go away with his tail between his legs. He looks daringly straight back at Atsushi and says.

"As you wish." And releases Himuro from the height of his face. Out of instinct, Himuro lands on his paws, but almost immediately he stumbles forward. His paws are trembling and he just can't stand on them right now.

The blonde raises his leg to give Himuro a last kick before leaving the scene, but Atsushi is faster. He leaps forward and slams the guy to the wall, exactly where Himuro was just now. Ryo starts growling to the other, but it appears that Atsushi is stronger because he can't escape from the giant’s hold.

Sharp claws bore into Atsushi’s arms but the guy doesn't notice it. He is fixated on Ryo. With his large hands, he keeps him in his place. While towering over Ryo, he lets out a threatening deep growl. Even Himuro, who still lays trembling on the ground, feels the thread hanging in the air.

Himuro knows that he doesn't have to be scared of the giant, that is why he doesn't try to run away now. But his heart is racing and his grey eyes are wide with fear. Though, the fear is for Atsushi, not of Atsushi. What if Ryo doesn't stop and they start fighting for real? He has never seen a black bear or a wolf fighting. But Himuro is sure that those two would be able to hurt each other a lot.

The growling of both predators continues while they try to estimate each other’s power. Then the blonde slowly stops growling. He probably decided that fighting would be a very bad idea now. For once the guy is not stupid. He shows his neck to Atsushi in surrender. The growling of Atsushi becomes softer, but doesn't stop, even when Atsushi growls a few words to Ryo.

"If you ever touch him again, I WILL crush you." The glare that Atsushi sends to Ryo is deadly, but then he releases him. Ryo doesn't know how fast he must run, and flees the scene as fast as he can.

Himuro and Atsushi are now totally alone in the corridor. Atsushi let's out an angry scoff, but then he focuses his attention on the cat. His expression and demeanour changes, the angry attitude makes place for concern. Slowly, without making sudden movements he approaches the cat. Himuro is still looking scared, his paws are trembling and he is hurting all over.

"Muro-chin?" Atsushi asks softly when he crouched before the cat. Himuro looks up at the giant, his eyes still big with fear. But the fear is now for a different reason. He knows! Atsushi knows it's him. Himuro freaks out for a moment. Atsushi sees the scared eyes looking at him. His face falls, a sad look is now covering his face.

"It's okay, Muro-chin. I won't hurt you, I promise." He says gently, showing his hands. The large talons are gone now. Himuro recognizes the large hands that caressed him just that day. It is amazing how they can be covered with sharp claws, but also be so soft.

Himuro just stares at those hands. His head is hurting so much, he can't think clearly. Atsushi saved him, and is now standing before him. Atsushi also saved him while knowing that the cat was Himuro. He looks up and sees the somber expression on the giant's face.

Why is he looking so sad? Is he disappointed that the cat turns out to be Himuro? He lays his head on his paws, keeping it up costs too much energy. Then Himuro processes the words form the giant. Atsushi thinks that Himuro is scared of him? But why? Himuro knows that Atsushi would never hurt him, the guy just saved him from getting more hurt!

While Himuro is putting the pieces together, Atsushi is wondering what he must do. He doesn’t want to leave the cat behind like this. But he thinks that his help is probably unwanted. He decides to go and alert a teacher. Himuro sees the guy standing up, and immediately he is out of his thoughts.

He doesn’t want the giant to leave! He needs to thank him. He needs to know if he isn’t hurt. He needs to stop him. Hurriedly he tries to stand up to stop Atsushi. His trembling paws are holding him with a lot of difficulty. But the guy is already turning around. He goes too fast.

Wait! A soft meow comes out of Himuro's sore throat. That makes Atsushi looks back. Carefully Himuro walks a few steps to him. He is not stable enough, though. After the third step he loses his balance and falls forward. But he doesn't hit the ground. Two strong hands prevent him from falling.

The warmth of them is familiar and Himuro doesn’t hesitate to put his weight completely on them. He tries to meow again but all what escapes him is a high pathetic sound. Atsushi then carefully tilts the cat from the floor and holds him close to his chest with one arm.

"Don't worry, they're gone now." He shushes the cat. Himuro nestles himself against the warm chest. His trembling slowly stops and he starts relaxing. The stress slowly leaves his body and his heavy eyes fall shut. Atsushi grabs Himuro's bag with his free hand. Then he sees Himuro's clothes and also puts them in the bag, which he throws over his shoulder.

"Let's get you out of here, you think you can change?" He murmurs to the cat. But when he looks down at the ball fur in his hands, he sees that the cat has fallen asleep. A little smile comes on the worried face of the giant. Such a troublesome cat. Atsushi keeps the cat closer to his chest and starts walking out of the school.


	8. Chapter 8

The moment Himuro wakes up, he feels a splitting headache coming up. Slowly he opens his eyes. Oh. He is still a cat. Carefully he looks around. Where is he? He doesn't recognize the room he is in. Himuro sees that he is laying on a couch, on a soft cushion. He gets the urge to put his nails into the softness, but he holds himself back.

"Ah, you're awake." A lazy voice comes from somewhere. Himuro looks around for the source of the sound and spots Atsushi, sitting at a table and working on something. His head is still foggy, but bits and pieces are starting to come back to him. Ryo hitting him. He himself trying to fight off the wolf but failing. Atsushi saving him...

"I put your clothes and your bag next to the sofa." Atsushi tells him. Himuro looks down and sees them laying beneath him on the ground. Atsushi stands up from the table and puts his books away. Then he walks over to Himuro. He sits next to him and softly brings his hand to Himuro's flank. The giant looks at the cat with a concerned expression, examining for wounds. It looks like the worse hits were on Himuro's face, but Atsushi can't say that for sure. The thick grey fur of the cat conceals everything.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there sooner." He says softly. Himuro looks at the sad expression that covers Atsushi's face. He flexes his paws and when he feels no pain in there, he stands up. Slowly he walks to the giant over the sofa. He lays a paw on Atsushi’s leg while looking up at him. It is a silent reassurance. With that he tries to tell the guy that he doesn't have to be sad. He saved Himuro!

Atsushi looks down fondly at the cat's actions. The sad smile slowly fades from his face. Softly he takes the cat under his shoulders and raises him carefully, then he puts the cat on his lap. He doesn't caress him like he usually does, because he is scared that he would hurt the cat accidentally. The wounds must hurt already without him petting them.

Himuro, still a little disorientated, and with a hammering headache, slouches into the warmth of the giant. This feels so safe. He looks up at the giant with large questioning eyes, wondering why the guy doesn't pet him like usual. Meanwhile Atsushi is looking down at Himuro in wonder. 

"How are you not scared of me?" He whispers. Himuro saw him threatening Ryo. He saw him while he was half transformed, but still he stayed with him. He didn’t ran away. Atsushi doesn't understand. But he knows that he can't get answers from the cat when he is like this. Himuro just meows back at him. 

Atsushi isn't even sure if he wants to know the answer. Secretly he is afraid that it will give him more hope. Hope, that he had finally found someone that won’t run away from him in fear. Someone that will stay even when they see him in his full power, in his bear shape. He doesn't want to admit it to himself, but deep in his heart Atsushi is scared. Because he knows that he already has gotten way too attached to Himuro. The chatting in class, the company in the canteen. It is more than Atsushi had for years. And he doesn't want to lose it. It would shatter not only his hope, but it would also break his heart.

With a sigh the giant looks away. Himuro, completely ignorant about the inner debate of the giant, slowly starts to remember everything. The details that were unclear are starting to come back. Atsushi letting Ryo go without laying a hand on him. The scratches on Atsushi's arms from Ryo's nails. The giant crouching before him in concern, calling him Muro-chin...

Wait. That's right. Atsushi knows his secret! But he still took Himuro home with him, and he even let him lay on his lap. Curiously Himuro turns on his back so he can look up to Atsushi. The giant seems to be in deep thoughts. A warm feeling that has nothing to do with the body-warmth from Atsushi spreads through Himuro.

So he can be close to Atsushi, even when the guy knows who he is? A content purr breaks through the silence, Himuro was so stressed about this. But the stress was not necessary. For a second Himuro regrets it that he hadn't confided in the giant before. He could have told him about Ryo. But Himuro knows that what is in the past, is in the past. He can't change his actions. He is curious though how Atsushi found out about his secret. Okay he wasn't exactly discreet in hiding his secret around the guy, but he still wants to know. When was he found out?

Two large hands lift him up and put him back down at the couch.

"I'm hungry, so I'm going to start with dinner." Atsushi says while laying his hand one last moment on the flank of the cat.

"If... If you want, you can stay for dinner. " He tells Himuro a bit shyly. The giant stands up and walks to his kitchen, but before he walks out of sight, he stops and looks back at the cat. He leans at the doorpost and contemplates how he is going the bring his next words. Himuro looks at the giants curiously, feeling that the guy has something else to say. When their gazes meet, the giant gives him a little smile.

"I only have human food though, so if Muro-chin wants to eat something..." Atsushi doesn't finish his sentence. But Himuro already understands and nods slowly. Atsushi asks him to stay as a human. Himuro keeps looking at the place where Atsushi vanishes into the kitchen. He hears the giant getting the pans that he needs for what he wants to cook.

Well, Atsushi knows it is him already. And Himuro is not eager to leave. He would be alone at home anyway. His parents are still in America, so he lives alone. Not that that bothers him. He loves the freedom. And he had made the choice to go back to Japan himself. Himuro decides to stay. His heart starts hammering in his chest by the idea of eating dinner together with Atsushi. This time he would be able to voice his answers.

He could tell the giant how thankful he is for saving him. And he could chat with him about normal things while eating, instead of just meowing. He closes his eyes and turns back to human. A whine escapes his mouth when he turns. Ah. He forgot. Turning while being hurt, hurts even more. He bites his lip to stop another sound from escaping, and buries his head into his hands.

"Shit." Himuro murmurs. His head feels like it is being split open by an axe and touching appears to make it even worse. He carefully probes the sore parts of his face with his fingers. The skin around his left eye feels swollen, but it doesn't hinder Himuro with seeing. His cheek feels also glowing hot. He definitely will be seeing this tomorrow.

"Muro-chin?" A voice travels from the kitchen. Atsushi must have heard him. Atsushi walks a few steps to see what happens in the living room, but stops when he sees a very human Himuro hunched over himself on his sofa.

"Are you okay?" He says in a small voice. He has seen people after fights before. He even participated in some himself. But those were always with large animals, and they were faster in healing. He doesn't know what he can do for the other guy. 

Himuro looks up from his hands and sees a worried face looking at him. The moment Atsushi sees the bruising on Himuro's face, his own face falls. He should have accepted that challenge from Ryo. He really should have, then that guy was now the one that was hurt. Not Muro-chin. Himuro sees the mood of the other darken and quickly reassures him that he is fine.

"I'm okay. Really. It just hurt while transforming." Suddenly he is very self-conscious about the fact that he is totally naked in Atsushi's home. A blush spreads over his face and travels all the way down to his chest. He shyly averts his eyes from the giant and leans forward for his clothes. Atsushi's face brightens when he gets an idea.

"I will get some ice." He says and disappears in the kitchen again. Himuro quickly uses that time to put on his clothes. Or, as quickly as possible with a throbbing headache. He puts on his pants and just slides his shirt over his head when Atsushi walks back into the living room.

"I also have some soft painkillers, dunno if it works." He says while standing with an icepack in his left hand, and a glass of water and some pills in his other. He sits down next to Himuro, and gives the pills and a glass of water first. Himuro takes them thankfully and swallows it with the water. He then sets the glass on the little table before the couch and looks back at the giant.

"Thanks." He says while wiping his mouth with his hand.

"For saving me and... everything really." He continues, giving the giant a warm but shy smile. Atsushi gives him a little smile back. Before he says anything, he gives Himuro the icepack. Himuro puts it against his face, and sighs contently when he feels the cooling sensation.

"That wasn't necessary if I hadn't provoked Ryo." Atsushi then answers, looking gloomy. "But I told you, I would help if Ryo bothered you." Himuro shakes his head, but immediately stops when it makes the pain worse.

"No, it is not your fault that Ryo acts like an asshole." Then he realises something.

"Wait, did you already knew that I was the cat back then?" He asks curiously. Atsushi tilts his head, he had expected that question, but not so soon. He hums while thinking what to say. Himuro leans even closer to Atsushi in his eagerness to know the truth.

"I suspected it." Atsushi answers, he frowns while thinking back, trying to be as precise as possible.

"The moment you started coming to the canteen was the moment I began thinking about the identity of the little cat." Himuro chuckles and thinks back at the first time he came to the canteen. The giant had indeed called him little back then.

"But I started suspecting you only after we started talking." Atsushi looks away, it looks as if his cheeks are a little pink.

"Your eyes are the same colour of grey, and well." He starts fumbling with his hands in his lap.

"Not often people approach me out of nowhere. So the cat was a real surprise, and when you started talking so soon after the cat showed up in the canteen..." Himuro sees the giants gaze flicking back to him.

"I wasn't sure though." Atsushi murmurs. Himuro is surprised. His eyes are the same colour when he is a cat? He had never heard that before. But not a lot of people knew about him being a cat. And it does sound logical.

"I see." He says in thought. "But, you never showed that you knew something." He knits his brows together in confusion.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Atsushi seems to get uncomfortable, he is looking back at the kitchen. He probably should check the food. Himuro sees him watching and lays his hand that isn’t holding the icepack on the giant's arm. His eyes plead him to stay and tell. The giant looks back down at the hand on his arm. Himuro gets flustered but he doesn't take his hand back. He really wants to know the answer. Atsushi speaks while still looking down.

"You seemed to want to keep it a secret, so I thought that it was better to say nothing." He glances at Himuro. When the other nods in agreement he continues, with his voice a lot lower.

"And maybe you would stop coming if you knew that I knew." The last words are almost a whisper. Himuro then understands, Atsushi might have liked their lunchbreak together as much as he did. He looks at Atsushi with the biggest grin he can muster with the bruises on his face. His hand on Atsushi's arm slides to the others hand and he grips it in a reassuring way.

"I now know that you do, and I don't want to stop coming to lunch with you." He says with a warm voice.

"But..." He says. Not sure how to formulate his next statement. Doubt flickers in the purple eyes that are looking down at him. Himuro quickly continues to stop the giant from worrying.

"I'd like to be there while being able to talk to you, and I can't do that while being a cat." He says. Atsushi's eyes soften. 

"I would like that too. Muro-chin is Muro-chin, so you can come however you want." An alarm goes off in the kitchen. Atsushi looks up and starts getting up. He doesn't let go of Himuro's hand and while looking down at him he asks.

"I need to check on the food, wanna help?" Himuro beams up to him. "I'd love to." He answers and he lets Atsushi lead him to the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, thankyou for all your kudos and comments! I just hope that you guys enjoy the reading as much as I enjoyed the writing of all these chapters.  
> A lot of love to you all <3


	9. Chapter 9

Himuro follows Atsushi to the kitchen, where a pan full of vegetables and chicken stands next to a rice cooker. And wow, that smells nice! Himuro's stomach starts to growl. What time is it actually? He looks around and finds a clock. Six thirty already? No wonder he is hungry. He must have slept longer than he thought. 

Atsushi starts stirring in the pan. It looks like he knows what he is doing so Himuro decides not to stand in the way. The giant is apparently content with what he sees, because he nods and puts the fire out. Then he opens a cabinet and gets a few glasses and plates out of them. Out of a drawer he grabs cutlery. Then he looks at Himuro.

"Can you put these plates on the table?" Atsushi hands him two plates with cutlery. Himuro nods and walks to the table where he puts everything down in their right place. It isn't a big table. For maybe three people max? That is odd. The apartment looks really spacious. There are more doors probably leading to different chambers. But when Himuro looks around the apartment, he sees that everything is equipped for one, maybe two people.

"You live here by yourself?" Himuro asks. Atsushi was rummaging in the refrigerator. When he finds what he was looking for, he closes the door and looks at Himuro so he can answer.

"My parents are mostly overseas for business, they will be home again next month, I think." And then he adds. "Do you want some soda with your dinner?"

"Ah, no please just water." Himuro answers, but he doesn't know what he can say to Atsushi about his parents. He hadn't expected Atsushi to live alone too. Does he have other people he talks to besides Himuro? Or has Atsushi been lonely? Himuro looks at the broad back of the giant. Why hadn't Himuro tried to talk to this guy before? He thanks the giant when he gives him a glass of water. Atsushi puts his own glass of soda on the table and looks back at the food.

"You know," Himuro starts, when Atsushi takes the pan of the stove and sets it with the rice on the table.

"Hmm?" Atsushi responds while sitting down and gesturing to Himuro to do the same. Himuro puts his icepack on the table and sits down while looking at the other, waiting for him to look back at him. 

Atsushi starts putting the food on their plates, but looks up when Himuro doesn't answer. There he meets two determined grey eyes. Himuro doesn't know how the giant is feeling about being alone, maybe he likes it. But if he doesn't, then he wants the giant to know that he is here now.

"I think that I am not scared of you, because I have been close enough to get to know the real you." He answers the question he was asked when he was still a cat. Atsushi's eyes widen a bit at those words but Himuro continues.

"You are nothing like the scary person people think you are. You actually are a really sweet and caring person." He smiles warmly at Atsushi and then looks down at his plate. It looks delicious and the smell that comes of it is mouth-watering.

"Thank you for the food." Himuro says and starts eating. Meanwhile the giant is still staring at the other guy. He opens and closes his mouth, but in the end he just looks at him in awe. Himuro looks back at him when he notices that the giant doesn’t start eating. There he sees the giant scowling at his food. Just as Himuro wants to ask if there was something wrong, Atsushi starts talking. His voice is soft and low.

"But I am a monster." Surprised Himuro looks at the giant. He puts down his cutlery and starts to voice his worry.

"What? Why-" But he is stopped by the wry smile that Atsushi gives him.

"I know what I look like, Muro-chin. You don't need to lie. I notice how people act around me. Not that I blame them. It is their instinct, isn't?" The wry smile is slowly turning in a sad smile. And Himuro sits speechless. Finally, he can talk to the giant over dinner, but now he can’t form any words. Atsushi stirs his food on his plate, watching it intently so he doesn't have to face Himuro.

"Muro-chin would realize it eventually, you haven't seen all of me." His voice is now only a whisper. "You will just run away, like everyone else." Himuro's chest tightens by those words. Is this what the guy always thinks? Is this why he doesn't talk to other people? Does he think this lowly of himself?

"Atsushi..." he says. But the giant isn't making eye contact anymore. His face now almost expressionless, but Himuro sees it as a mask.

"Atsushi, look at me." He pleads. But Atsushi doesn't even give him a glance. Worry starts to make place for anger. Nobody talks like that about Atsushi, not even Atsushi himself. Himuro doesn't know how Atsushi came to this conclusion, but he will make sure, that he would prove the giant wrong. He is not going anywhere.

Himuro stands up. His chair scrapes over the floor and Atsushi looks up at the sound. Himuro passes the few steps around the table to the other guy in a second, and places both hands on the sides of Atsushi's face. Not a second he thinks about how powerful the other is, he only feels the need to let Atsushi know how wrong he is. He guides Atsushi's gaze to him.

"Look into my eyes." He orders. The purple eyes still have a sad glim, but they obey now.

"Look, do you see any fear in them?" Himuro keeps looking into Atsushi’s eyes, pronouncing the following words clearly.

"You. Are. Not. A. Monster. You are just as human as all of us. And let me be clear." Himuro says while leaning even closer.

"The way you look like doesn't make you a monster. It is the way you act. And you. You just saved me. You took care of me. You..." Himuro breaks eye contact and huffs out a heavy sigh. His hands are trembling and he takes them off the others face. Atsushi doesn't move his head though. He is staring astonished at Himuro. Himuro leans back and looks down at the giant.

"You are not a monster, you're a hero. At least you are to me." Himuro's voice starts to tremble when everything comes back to him.

"I was scared." He feels tears welling up in his eyes, but he doesn't want them and closes his eyes shut to prevent them from spilling over. His hands are now fists at his side. 

"Scared of Ryo. That is a real monster. He is so cruel and-" his voice breaks. And he hates it. He is trying to comfort Atsushi. Damn it! Why isn't he even capable of that? He wants to be strong. He doesn't want to cry.

"And then you-" Himuro tries again. But his voice doesn't comply. Then, a hand slowly caresses his hair out of his face. Himuro opens his eyes and looks up. Through watery eyes, he sees Atsushi standing before him. The giant looks like he doesn't know what he can do. The hand starts caressing through his hair, the same way, but also different, from the way he does when Himuro is a cat.

"Sssh, Muro-chin, please don't be sad." The sweet act crumbles Himuro's last efforts to keep his tears in. With a sob he leans forward and buries his head in the large chest before him. Tears are now falling freely, probably wetting Atsushi's shirt. Atsushi slowly lays his arms around him and holds him close. He keeps caressing Himuro's hair.

The warmth that envelops Himuro washes away all the tension in his body. They stay standing there in silence for a few more moments. Atsushi starts patting Himuro's back, and slowly Himuro relaxes completely. He heaves a deep sigh and then looks up at his comforter.

"See?" He sniffs. His voice is still trembling a bit. "You are such a sweet person." Atsushi looks down at him, his hair falls forward. His eyes are warm and a shy smile appears on his face.

"Mmm," he hums. "Maybe Muro-chin is right." He doesn't look completely convinced, but it is a start. Himuro smiles back at him. Quickly he wipes his eyes and face, and when he is completely sure that he feels better, he takes a step back. 

"I'm sorry, I ruined your shirt now." But Atsushi doens't mind it at all. 

"I have more shirts." Atsushi reaches over the table to give Himuro his water, and Himuro takes it happily. He empties the glass in a few large gulps. Atsushi takes it from him and fills it again. In the meantime Himuro gets back to his seat. He let Atsushi's food become cold. So rude of him.

"Sorry." He says again when they both sit at the table.

"There is nothing to be sorry for, Muro-chin. I should be thanking you." Atsushi tells him. He checks the food and finds it still lukewarm. "Do you want me to heat it up for you?" Atsushi asks. A bite of the food tells Himuro that it isn't as cold as he thought it would be.

"No this is good, thank you." He starts eating and Atsushi does the same. "This is really good, Atsushi." He says with his mouth full. Atsushi looks up and smirks at the sight. After swallowing another big bite, Himuro continues. 

"I always cook for myself, but I am not even close to your level. Wow, I wish I could eat this every day." Atsushi looks pleased and after a few more minutes he says.

"If you'd like, you could come over for dinner more often." Himuro looks up with hope in his eyes.

"Really?" He asks happily. Atsushi looks a bit embarrassed by his proposal and adds.

"It is less boring to cook for other people anyway."

"Thankyou! Yes please!" Himuro says with a big smile. "That would be awesome." More time with Atsushi and more of this delicious food. Contently Himuro eats everything on his plate. With a happy sigh he puts down his knife and fork. He is so full. Atsushi is still eating, the guy eats the double or maybe even the triple amount of what he had. After dinner, Atsushi puts the plates in the sink and asks Himuro how he is feeling.

"Are the painkillers doing their job?" Now that Atsushi mentions it, Himuro notices that his head isn't hurting anymore.

"Yes, thank God they are." He looks at the clock and sees that it is getting late. Maybe he should head home now. He doesn't want to impose himself on Atsushi more than he already does. The guy had taken care of him so far, he can't expect Atsushi to do even more for him. Himuro really does want to stay, but he is also self-conscious. He will probably be purple and blue tomorrow, not his most charming face.

"Ah, um Atsushi." He starts. "Thank you so much for everything, but I think I should head home now." Himuro says carefully. Atsushi looks at Himuro for a few seconds. He looks like he wants to say something but he changes his mind and nods. Atsushi passes Himuro and walks to his door to get his coat. Himuro looks at him questionably. Atsushi sees his gaze at his coat. 

"I'll walk you home?" He says a little unsure. Himuro chuckles.

"I would like your company, but you don't have to walk me all the way home. Just a little, until I recognize the neighbourhood." Atsushi puts on his coat.

"Okay." He says. Himuro takes his bag from next to the sofa. He then realizes that his jacket must still be in his locker. He didn't have the time to take it out before Ryo showed up. He shrugs and heads to the door while he swings his bag on his back.

Atsushi is already standing in the hallway, playing with his keys. Himuro sees that his shoes are laying before the door. Atsushi probably took them with him and put them there.

"Um, Muro-chin..." Atsushi starts when Himuro finishes putting on his shoes.

"Hmm?" Himuro answers while standing up again, the hallway is narrow and he is standing really close to Atsushi.

"What is it, Atsushi?" He asks while leaning back against the wall. He feels his cheeks heat up under the intense gaze of the giant. Atsushi is frowning.

"You don't have your coat?" He asks Himuro.

"Ah, no, but don't worry. I'm fine." Himuro tells the giant while rubbing his neck with his hand.

"But it is cold outside." Atsushi pouts. Then he hums and walks back inside the house. Himuro watches the giant disappear in a room. After less than a minute the guy returns with something in his hands.

"Here, put this on." Atsushi hands to Himuro what appears to be a purple-white sports jacket.

"I don't have anything smaller than this." Atsushi says shyly when Himuro accepts it. Himuro holds the jacket before him and starts to grin. This is still way too big for him. Atsushi insists that he wears this outside? Well at least it will be warm. 

Himuro takes the bag off his back so he can put the jacket on. The sleeves fall over his hands and the jacket hides most of his thighs. Chuckling Himuro pulls the zipper all the way up. He rolls up his sleeves and looks back at Atsushi while saying.

"Thanks, I will give it back tomorrow." He is confronted with an open-eyed stare from Atsushi, the guy's cheeks turn pink at the sight of Himuro in his oversized jacket. When Himuro catches his eyes, he looks away and swallows thickly.

"That's alright." Atsushi murmurs and he opens the door for both of them. It doesn't take Himuro long to see where he is. It is already dark outside, but that doesn't hinder him in recognizing the place. He is sure that he could find his way home from here, but he stays silent. Just a few more minutes, he thinks.

They walk in a comfortable silence. Atsushi is walking him to the school, so that Himuro would definitely find his way from there if he couldn't recognize the area earlier. Himuro is glad that he has the jacket from Atsushi, the giant was right. It really is cold outside. He puts his hands in the pockets of the jacket. There he feels something in a wrapping, and curiously he takes it out of his pocket.

"What's this." He says to himself. Atsushi looks at him and sees the other pulling a candy bar out of his jacket.

"Oh, I forgot that one." Atsushi says. Himuro looks at the bar, he isn't hungry at all so he offers it to the giant.

"Do you want it now?" He asks while handing the bar over. Atsushi doesn't accept it though.

"Nah, Muro-chin can have it." Himuro nods and puts the bar back in his pocket. They are now almost at the school and Himuro can't postpone the moment of parting any longer.

"I recognize this place, I can get home from here myself now." He says and turns to Atsushi. The giant stops and looks down at Himuro.

"Okay, be careful." He says. Himuro looks up to him. The warmth in those purple eyes makes him wanting to be brave, to step forward, and to thank the giant properly. 

Himuro gathers all his courage he can muster and takes the giant's collar in his hands. In a swift motion he leans up on his toes and pulls this giant down. Quickly he puts a chaste kiss on the others lips. As fast as he stepped in, so fast he steps back.

"Thank you for today." He breathes out with a little grin. Totally taken by surprise, the giant just looks at Himuro. His face is flushed red, matching the crimson skin of Himuro's cheeks.

Suddenly Himuro gets super nervous. Like he used all his courage, just by giving the giant a kiss. He promptly turns around and with a last "See you tomorrow" he disappears around the corridor.

When the giant is out of sight, the little grin on Himuro's face shifts in a big beaming smile. That smile doesn't leave his face the whole way to his home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys~ I hope you liked this chapter. It is longer than usual, and with a lot of events ᵔᴥᵔ. I will try to update the next chapter as soon as possible, but it might take a week. Thanks for all your patience and support!


	10. Chapter 10

Himuro starts to doubt his actions when he finally lays in his bed. Was it all right to kiss Atsushi? Did he make a mistake? What if the giant didn't like it? What if he ruined their friendship with that kiss? He really thought that it was the right way to thank Atsushi at that moment, but now he isn't so sure anymore.

Maybe, if Atsushi hadn't liked it, he could tell the guy that it was nothing special. That is was just a way to thank someone in America. Himuro knows that that is not true, but maybe the giant doesn't know. But even the thought of lying about the kiss makes Himuro distressed.

He doesn't regret the kiss itself. It was only a little kiss, and over in a second. But Himuro wanted to kiss Atsushi for such a long time. And yes, he does want to do it again. He wants to do even more. If anything, that little kiss only ignited his blazing hunger for the guy.

Maybe Himuro could have ignored it till now, but after this kiss his feelings were gnawing at him. He keeps seeing the little blush on the giant’s face. And it sparks his imagination. Would he be able to make the giant blush even more? Does that blush go all the way down that broad chest?

Himuro gets all warm of that thought. But then he halts himself. He should stop thinking about these things. He can't get ahead of himself. He doesn’t even know if Atsushi liked it, so thinking about more is like torturing himself with hope that can be easily shattered.

But he can’t turn off his thoughts. Himuro keeps thinking about what he did and what the consequences will be. In the silence of his room, Himuro keeps turning and twisting. That night he gets only four hours of sleep.

~

Waking up the second time after the fight was even worse than the first time. Himuro was not only extremely tired, but his head was also hurting. The sharp pain was gone though. With a sigh Himuro climbs out of his bed and starts on his morning rituals.

In a sleepy state he puts on his clothes and eats his breakfast. Only when he is ready to go to school, he sees himself in the mirror. Himuro freezes and looks at himself in horror. The left side of Himuro's face is now a shade of light purple. His left eye is surrounded by an even darker blue.

Himuro touches his face, he looks so terrible. For a second he wishes he had a sister from who he could steal some make-up. Now all he could do to conceal his bruises was putting his hair before it. He is lucky that the worst part is on the side where his fringe covers his face. It is still visible through his black hair if you look closely, but Himuro hopes that nobody tries to do that.

Even when he knows that it isn't something to feel embarrassed about, he still is ashamed by his face. It takes him a lot of willpower to leave the house that morning. Gloomy Himuro starts walking to his school.

He takes a plastic bag with the jacket form Atsushi with him. Yesterday he had found another jacket in his closet. It is a bit colder than his usual jacket, but it fits better than Atsushi's. And he can't keep Atsushi's jacket forever, he told him he would give it back today.

Himuro keeps checking if his fringe covers the left part of his face when he arrives at the school. He already knew that people would look at him because of it, but what he hasn't expected was the way people started whispering about him when he walked past.

Self-conscious he reaches his locker. There he stands still for a moment. The events of yesterday start playing before his eyes again. It was right here. 

His body tenses. A quick look around him tells Himuro that he is being stared at. But he doesn't see Ryo, or any other guy from The Pack. Hurriedly he opens his locker and takes his stuff. He puts Atsushi's jacket in his locker, which is getting pretty full by now. Then he walks to the classroom as fast as he can. When Himuro enters the classroom, the discussions fall silent. Oh nice, could it become any more awkward? Nishino walks up to him.

"Dude, you alright?" He asks carefully. Himruo looks at him but quickly averts his gaze again.

“I am okay.” He murmurs. He knows he doesn’t looks like it, but he also knows that he will heal. Nishino looks at him concerned but then he lays a hand on Himuro’s shoulder and smiles.

“I am glad that you made it back in one piece. I wouldn’t know what I had done if I heard that not only my best friend was my hero, but also in the hospital.” He says kindly. That warms Himuro’s heart and he looks back at his friend with a smile.

Meanwhile more people come up to him. All starting to voice their concern. At first Himuro thinks that they are just looking for gossip, but then someone starts about a video.

"It looked really bad." "Yeah I saw it too, it is amazing that you still dare to come to class." Confused Himuro looks around.

"What video?" He asks. Nishino then answers him with a pained expression.

"Someone apparently filmed everything yesterday. The video went viral, I think everyone in the school has already seen it." Oh, so that means everyone has seen how he was beaten up like crap? Himuro starts to feel sick.

"Yeah, but it stops right after Murasakibara demanded Ryo to put you down." Some girl Himuro doesn't know the name of tells him. "How did it end?" Everyone takes a step closer, eager to hear the story. Himuro feels uncomfortable with all those eyes on him.

"Ah, I don't really know." He gulps but decides to say at least something about it.

"Atsushi saved me, and Ryo ran off I think, but everything is very blurry and after that it just went black for me." He keeps the information of Atsushi taking him home for himself. Everyone starts talking to each other. Speculating about a fight. Only Nishino keeps looking at Himuro. After a moment of reading the others face he starts grinning and he says loudly.

"Okay that's enough paparazzi for today, give the guy some air." He throws his arm around Himuro's shoulders and leads him away. The rest of the class seems to agree and people get back into groups, talking animatedly again. When Nishino comes to Himuro's table he sits the other down. And with one raised brow he says.

"So... it's Atsushi now?" Only then Himuro realises his mistake. A blush starts to spread while he starts to make it right.

"Ah no, I meant Murasakibara. I am just used to call people by their surnames. Must be an American thing." Himuro says. Nishino looks smug.

"Yeah, I understand. I mean, it wouldn't have anything to do with the guy saving you, right?" He tells Himuro with a wink.

"Oh, and wait!” Nishino pauses as if he suddenly remembered something.

“It also surely has nothing to do with you being all cute with him while you’re being your soulanimal. Or the way you look at him in the lessons. It is definitely just something American." Nishino says triumphantly, knowing Himuro can’t get out of this. Himuro's face heats up even more. But he knows Nishino is right. He hadn't told his friends about his feelings for Atsushi, but apparently Nishino figured it out by himself.

"Oh shut up." He says lightly. Nishino chuckles and looks at his friend with mirth in his eyes. The whole classroom falls silent again. Himuro's heart skips a beat at the sight of Atsushi walking inside.

Immediately his nerves are back. What should he do? Atsushi doesn't look at his staring classmates and walks straight to his place next to Himuro. Just act normal, just act normal, just act normal. Himuro keeps chanting the sentence in his head. When Atsushi arrives at his table, Himuro looks up at him. He gives the giant a careful smile.

"Morning." He says with a cheering voice. Nishino gives Himuro a knowing look. But Himuro doesn't mind that, because Atsushi smiles back at him. The giant says good morning and then asks.

"Muro-chin, how's your head?" Atsushi looks at him inquisitively, while sitting down next to him. He lays his bag on the table, a chips bag poking out of it.

"Ah, it's not that bad." Himuro's smile widens.

"Good to hear." Atsushi states. Then Himuro's gaze catches the nervous fretting of Nishino. The guy starts speaking to Atsushi, to surprise of all of them.

"T-thanks, for standing up for Himuro." He stutters. Nishino is looking between Atsushi and Himuro, but Himuro is only looking at Atsushi, curious how the guy would react. The giant looks inspecting at Nishino, which makes the guy even more nervous. Then Atsushi nods.

"No problem." He says. Nishino sees that that would be the only answer he will get and retreats to his seat after saying bye to Himuro. Himuro looks after his friend with a soft smile. Nishino is really a good friend. Nishino might have helped Himuro convicting Atsushi that he isn't a monster with this action. Happily Himuro looks at the giant to see if it made him as happy as it made him.

But Atsushi's attention is already back to more important matters. Atsushi watches him attentively, his gaze is now all over his face, lingering on the bruises under his eye. The giant scowls, and leans forward. His hand comes up and softly he brushes the fringe before Himuro's left eye away.

Himuro's breath hitches in surprise, but he doesn't stop the giant. His heart almost drums out of his chest by the sudden contact. Himuro stays still, but he can't stand to see how Atsushi looks at his hideous face. He looks away and lets himself being examined by the giant. He gasps for air when Atsushi's soothing fingers brush his bruised cheek. Pain is reflected in Himuro's eyes and Atsushi frowns at what he sees.

"Muro-chin, don't lie to me about your wellbeing." Atsushi scoffs. This makes Himuro looks up into Atsushi's eyes, but he sees only concern, no trace of irritation. Now his eyes are locked with Atsushi's, Himuro realizes how close they are.

For a second he is mesmerized by the dark purple pools. If he leans forward, he could easily brush his lips against Atsushi's. Totally enchanted by the moment Himuro starts leaning forward slowly. Atsushi is looking at him but doesn't back up. Himuro can feel the giant's breath on his lips already and if he just-

But the bell rings. Himuro jerks backwards. Shaken out if his trance, he is suddenly aware of his surroundings. What the was he thinking? He is in his freaking classroom! A look around the room tells Himuro that at least a few of his classmates were watching them before the bell rang.

Well that's embarrassing. Himuro flushes beet red and leans back in his chair, away from Atsushi. He combs his fringe back before his left eye and tries to calm himself. In a fake nonchalant voice Himuro says.

"It will go away quickly." He makes the mistake to look back at Atsushi. The gaze of the giant is outright predatory. Atsushi's pupils are dilated and Himuro hears him huff out a deep breath. Did Atsushi hold his breath this whole time? Himuro feels chills spreading through his body, but for a whole other reason than fear.

The teacher prevents Atsushi from responding by starting the first lesson of the day. The tension between them doesn't fade away though. It makes it hard for Himuro to focus and his hands are sweating. He manages to not look at Atsushi again. He knows that would probably make focussing even harder.

The last lesson before the lunch break starts with an announcement over the speakers. Himuro is only half listening when he suddenly hears his Ryo's name. The announcement is repeated and Himuro hears that Ryo is asked to come to the principal's office.

The class starts whispering after the announcement. Things are whispered about yesterday. It is speculated that the teachers have seen the video that was made. Then the teacher raises his voice and the class becomes silent again. 

If Himuro had any focus, then even that was gone now. He starts thinking about the announcement. Would Ryo be expelled this time? He already has a record of fighting, but the teachers had never caught him red-handed. The Pack always prevented that.

He is so in thoughts that he doesn't hear it the first time when another announcement comes over the speakers. Only when he hears his name he starts paying attention. He already knows what the announcement is before he heard everything of it.

"Can Himuro Tatsuya report to the principal's office immediately." The voice on the speakers repeats. Himuro tenses. The whole class is now looking at him. The teaches sighs and then says.

"Well, go on then." Himuro stands up and glances down at Atsushi. Atsushi was glaring at the speakers but now looks back at him. With heavy steps Himuro leaves the classroom and starts walking to the principal's office.


	11. Chapter 11

Just before Himuro wants to knock on the principal's office, the door sweeps open. Before him stands Ryo, with the doorknob still in his hand. Their eyes meet, Himuro freezes for a second. Then his instinct takes it over and he readies himself to fight. It is probably not necessary before the principal, but his body acts on his own.

"Don't forget to come to our appointment, I will contact your parents about it." A voice tells Ryo. Ryo breaks the eye contact with Himuro and looks back over his shoulder. He grunts an affirmative and then walks past Himuro to escape.

Himuro is surprised that he doesn't get another murderous glare. The guy just quickly makes his way out of the corridor. After blinking a few times in confusion, Himuro looks back into the office. There the principal sits behind his desk.

His stern mask slips for a second when he thinks that no one is around. The man is looking at the documents on his desk, so Himuro decides to knock on the already open door to make his presence known. The principal looks up when he hears Himuro and welcomes him in. 

"Ah Himuro Tatsuya, please take a seat." The man says with a powerful voice, the stern mask is already back on his place. Himuro sees the chair before the principal's desk and takes a seat while greeting the man back.

He grips his hands nervously in his lap and looks expectantly at the man. The principal is known for being a strict but righteous man. He is probably already far in his fifties, but he is still working hard.

"So Himuro, you probably know why you are here, don't you?" The man starts while interlacing his fingers on his desk. Himuro nods.

"This is about yesterday’s fight, isn't it?" He says, while looking down at his hands. The principal agrees.

"Yes, but I wouldn't call it a fight. I have seen the video, made by one of your fellow students and I want to apologize on behalf of my staff. They weren't where they needed to be and couldn't prevent this from happening." Himuro looks uncertainly at the principal. He hadn't expected that and doesn't know what to say now so he just nods again. The man then continues.

"And I would like to hear your part of what happened in full detail. It would help me to find a fitting punishment for your assaulters." Himuro, happy that there will be listened to him, sits straighter and starts telling the man everything.

Well, almost everything. He tells him about how Ryo more than often bullies his friends. Himuro describes the part in the canteen where Ryo challenged and offended Atsushi in explicit detail. He even tells the man about how he attacked Ryo out of frustration and anger.

Himuro knows that it wasn't right and he also voices that when he sees the stern expression of the man. Himuro would do it again though, if he had the chance. But he deems it better not to tell the principal about those thoughts. After the event in the canteen he gets less specific. Himuro talks about the rumours about that Ryo wanted to beat the cat up to restore his dignity.

He begins to feel uncomfortable when gets to the part when Ryo’s right hand found out his secret. By telling this, his nervousness comes back. But the principal is patient and gives Himuro all his time. Himuro feels his hands tremble again when he talks about Ryo's ambush. But this time he doesn't get too emotional.

He tries to tell the principal all he knows about what happened. Especially about what happened after the video stopped. He doesn't want Atsushi to get in trouble because of him. The principal is really interested about how the two predators stood face to face, but didn't go further than threatening each other. Himuro says that doesn't exactly know the answer for that. 

He guesses that Atsushi doesn't want to do things that take too much energy if it can be avoided. And fighting is definitely one of those things. And for Ryo, Himuro reckons that the guy saw that if he did attack, that he probably would lose. The principal nods after that.

"Thank you for sharing this, Himuro. But as you can understand, can I not tolerate people fighting in my school. Even when it is a little cat." Himuro hangs his head. Of course he is aware of that.

"Yes, I understand." He says softly.

"But," The principal keeps his strict face, but his eyes soften a little.

"Seen the circumstances, I think that your atonement was already high enough." Himuro looks surprised at the principal.

"Thank you." He says and bows for the man. The bell for the lunch break rings outside.

"Well I think I've heard enough, thank you Himuro, you can go now." The principal dismisses him. Before he goes, Himuro gets the courage to ask.

"Sir, if I may ask, what will happen to Ryo now?" The man looks at him sternly, but then says.

"We don't tolerate fighting in this school, it will be strictly punished. But what I deem worse than fighting, is threatening the safety of all the students. People that threaten the safety of this school's students, aren't welcome in here. For this school protects her students, as the students make this school." With that he opens the door of his office and ends the conversation. 

Himuro bows again and walks out the door. He needs to think twice about the words of the man. He didn't give Himuro a direct answer, but it sounded like Ryo would be expelled. That thought makes Himuro finally relax. A school without Ryo? How perfect would that be. He can't imagine anything better.

The corridor is crowded, but Himuro can't miss the purple-headed giant that is leaning against the wall the opposite of the principal’s office. He smiles when he sees the comfortable sight of Atsushi, who is simply eating potato chips. Then he corrects himself. There is something better than a school without Ryo. A school with Atsushi. Happily, Himuro walks up to the giant.

"Hey Atsushi, what are you doing here?" He asks. Atsushi stops munching on his chips and looks down at him. After a quick check, he sees that Himuro is still okay. That is, for as much he can be okay after getting beaten up a day before.

"Hmm, waiting for you of course." He answers Himuro. Himuro flushes at the giant’s words, but before he can say anything back, Atsushi pushes away from the wall and starts walking.

"Let's go Muro-chin, I'm hungry." He says while crunching his already empty chips bag. Himuro chuckles. Only Atsushi could still be hungry after eating snacks.

"Of course you are." He says and he follows besides the giant.

~

That day was the first day that Himuro sat as a human beside Atsushi over lunch break. They were stared at of course, and a lot of people were talking about them, Ryo or the video. But Himuro couldn't care less. He was where he wanted to be and there was nothing that could ruin it now.

Himuro tells Atsushi what the principal asked and what he said after Himuro asked him about Ryo. Atsushi hums after Himuro repeated the words of the man.

"So, you think it means that Ryo gets expelled?" He asks Himuro doubtfully.

"I certainly hope it does." Himuro answers while opening his lunch he had taken out of the classroom before they went to the canteen.

"It would be safer for him." Atsushi murmurs darkly. Himuro smirks when he hears it. Atsushi is unexpectedly protective of the people he cares about. At least, Himuro hopes that that is the cause of the giant's behaviour. The giant made it clear that he at least cared about him enough to protect him and take him home, right?

They keep talking about nothing trivial while they eat. Atsushi tells Himuro what he missed in class, which is luckily nothing at all. Some minutes they just sit in silence, but even that is comfortable. The lunch break seems to go faster than when Himuro was a cat. When the bell rings Himuro tenses, but then realizes that he doesn't have to run away anymore.

He gets up slowly and walks with Atsushi to their classroom. Even when his face is blue and bruised, Himuro can't stop smiling. After talking so freely with Atsushi over lunch, the tension between them faded a little. It isn't gone completely, but Himuro can focus more. He even takes the time to make notes in the lessons.

The last bell rings and everyone starts getting their things. Himuro puts his books in his bag and stands up from his table. He waits for Atsushi, who takes his time to get his things. His candy stash is empty by now and Atsushi puts all the wrappings in his bag to throw away later. When Atsushi looks at Himuro, he sees the boy staring at his empty desk.

"Ready to go?" He asks in his lazy voice. Himuro had drifted away into his thoughts when he was waiting. He was thinking about what to do next. Atsushi hadn’t said anything about the kiss from yesterday. And Himuro doesn’t want to act like it didn’t happen.

He knows that if he ignores it now, that it will only become harder to talk about later. But talking about it here, on school grounds? That doesn’t seem like a good plan. He needs to find a better place and time to talk about the kiss. Himuro isn’t sure if he would be able to voice his true feelings for the giant. But after thinking about if for all those hours last night, he decided that he would at least let the giant know, what the kiss meant for him.

And because it was Friday already, he wouldn't see Atsushi for the next two days. Therefore, he needs to do something right now. Could he ask the giant to eat together at his place again? But then he invites himself over, that is not very polite of him... Should he ask Atsushi over by him then? But he can't cook as good as him. He will humiliate himself! Atsushi's voice shakes him out of his thoughts.

"Ah, yes, let's go." Himuro answers with a smile. They both get their bags and walk out of their classroom.

"I took your jacket with me, it's in my locker." Himuro says lightly. If he gives it to the giant first, then he has more time to decide what he should say. Atsushi nods and together they walk to Himuro’s locker. Himuro gives Atsushi his jacket first when they get there.

"Thanks again for letting me borrow it." He tells the giant. Atsushi responds with a little "Thanks" and takes the jacket so Himuro could put on his own, warmer jacket. After Himuro got his books and extra jacket, he walks with Atsushi to his locker. There he leans against another locker while waiting for the giant to get his things.

"Ah, um Atsushi..." Himuro starts while looking up at the giant. Atsushi hums in question and gives him a sideway glance. Himuro thinks that he should just ask the giant to hang out together. They could then decide where they want to go. He frets with his sweater and continues.

"If you'd like..." He tells the other, but his voice doesn't work with him. Why is asking Atsushi to simply hang out together this difficult? Atsushi puts his last things in his bag and looks at Himuro expectantly. Himuro swallows nervously and then tells the giant.

"You know, if you want, then maybe we could hang out-" But Himuro is roughly interrupted by a voice.

"Ah Murasakibara! I was looking for you, I'm happy to see that you didn't go home already." Their homeroom teacher suddenly talks loudly from the other side of the corridor. Himuro and Atsushi both look at the teacher walking their way. Himuro grips his sweater in a fist. This timing... But the teacher already continues.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" He looks at Himuro and smiles apologizing.

"Um, sorry Himuro but I need to borrow your friend, it might take a while so..." He dismisses Himuro easily.

"This way please Murasakibara." He says to Atsushi and starts walking away. Atsushi hesitates, he looks between their homeroom teacher and Himuro.

"What were you saying?" He asks Himuro with a low voice. Himuro sees the teacher looking back impatiently.

"Ah, it's nothing, never mind." He quickly says. "I'll see you again on Monday then?" Himuro tries to hide his disappointment with a grin. Atsushi nods and gives Himuro a small smile. 

"Bye" he says softly, even when Atsushi can't hear it anymore.


	12. Chapter 12

That weekend it becomes confirmed that Ryo would change schools. Apparently, Ryo's parents had come to the school and after a word with the principal, they had 'decided' to transfer Ryo to another school. The word spread fast between the students through social media. That's also how Himuro finds out about Ryo.

In one of the many conversations Himuro had with Atsushi, he got the guy's phone number. But until now, he hadn't found the right opportunity to text him. Full excitement Himuro starts typing a text. It doesn't take long before Atsushi responds with a 'So you were right, good to hear.'

After that they keep texting. Atsushi doesn't react fast, and the reactions are mostly short, but every new text message makes Himuro thrilled. With a big smile, he works on his homework that he postponed all these days. It is a lot of work, but with Atsushi's text in between the exercises, it is doable.

The weekend is slow and Himuro goes outside as little as possible. He had hoped that the blue of his face would fade more, but even when Monday comes, his is still bruised and coloured. It would take more time to heal. Himuro knew that, but it still comes as a disappointment when he watches himself in the mirror on Monday morning. With a sigh, he steps outside the door, at least Ryo wouldn't be here today.

The whole way to school he thinks about sending the giant a 'good morning' text, but every time he types the text, he gets insecure and deletes it again. In the meantime, he checks his social media and other chats. Ryo getting to another school was still a hot topic. Himuro is looking at his phone when he enters the school grounds. Suddenly he is almost run over by Nishino.

"HIMUROOOOOO!" The guy yells while running towards him. He jumps onto Himuro, who can just manage to hold him up. It is that Nishino was so loud, otherwise he had probably managed to surprise Himuro so much that they had fallen on the ground. Nishino lets go a second later but keeps bouncing on his feet in his excitement.

"Did you hear? Did you hear?" Nishino asks him. Himuro slides his phone back in his pocket so he can give his friend all his attention. He feels happiness washing over him when he sees how overjoyed Nishino is.

"Yes I heard! Ryo won't bother us anymore." With matching smiles the two walk into the school.

"And it wouldn't have happened without you Himuro-kun." Nishino says with a warm voice. Himuro beams back at his friend and right then, he thinks that the bruises are more than worth it. They enter the classroom together just in time for the bell, apparently Himuro strode slower than usual while he was on his phone. Himuro quickly walks to his place and waves to Atsushi when he sits down. While getting his books, Himuro sees that Atsushi looks more tired than usual.

"You alright? You look tired." He whispers to the giant. Atsushi yawns to confirm Himuro's statement but nods and says.

"Short night." Himuro wants to ask more, but the lesson is already starting and he doesn't want to anger the teacher. He will wait until the lesson is over. Meanwhile he is thinking about the giant. Is something bothering him? What could it be? Maybe it has something to do with the talk Atsushi had with their homeroom teacher? Himuro glances sideways when he hears the giant yawn again.

Then suddenly he remembers it. How could he have forgotten the kiss incident? Is that what bothers the giant? He should have asked Atsushi to hang out with him last Friday when he had the chance. What if Atsushi was troubled over it and had lost sleep because of him? That he loses sleep over his own actions was okay, but Atsushi can't suffer those consequences too... Luckily the lesson goes fast and Himuro takes his chance the second the teacher ends it.

"Atsushi," he starts asking, "How was the conversation with the teacher last Friday?" The giant leans with his elbow on his desk and hangs his head on his hand.

"Ah, they told me again to stop scaring everyone away." He says with a toneless voice. His face was looking bored, but it reminds Himuro to the evening when Atsushi told him that he was a monster. Himuro scowls and hums.

"You are not doing that now though. Maybe they saw the video where you protected me from Ryo. You were acting intimidating there for Ryo of course." Atsushi looks at Himuro, his expression edging on the border of chagrin.

"I still scared other people." He says gruff. It really did bother him then.

"Not all the people." Himuro says softly, trying to comfort him. Something changes in Atsushi's gaze when he says it, but Himuro can't determine what the change means. Then the giant looks away, and with a low voice he says.

"Let's stop talking about it, it's annoying." The dismissal was clear. Himuro is surprised by the attitude of the giant. He knows that it was a touchy subject to talk about, but he hadn't expected to be totally shut out.

He thought that they were getting closer by now. Had he said something wrong to make the giant angry? Was the kiss the problem? But there seemed to be nothing wrong when they were texting. Or had he missed something? The next lesson starts and Atsushi keeps looking outside the window, totally ignoring Himuro again. It feels like they are back to where they were the first day they sat beside each other.

Himuro is so confused that he even misses the question the teacher asks him. He is laughed at when the man calls his name and must repeat the question again. Luckily Himuro did know the answer, it was about last homework. At least that was something he managed to finish this weekend. The next of the lessons Himuro tries to take more attention to avoid the same embarrassing situation.

He heaves out a sigh when the bell for the lunch break rings and looks sideways at the giant, who is getting up to get to the canteen. Himuro also gets his lunch and gets up to follow the guy. Atsushi waits for him, but he doesn't talk. Out of desperation Himuro starts talking about the first thing that comes to his mind.

"You know, this morning Nishino almost managed to throw me over. He ran so fast to me that I only barely had the strength to catch him." Himuro is so in his story, that he doesn't see other’s expression darken.

"It was really funny though, and the guy is so happy that Ryo is gone! It is almost cute." Himuro says enthusiastically. Atsushi hums and bites his lip, but looks away so the other guy doesn't see it. They arrive at the canteen and get their lunch.

The giant still hasn't said a word when they sit at the table. By now Himuro doesn't know what to say anymore and just eats his lunch. If the kiss was really the problem, then there was no way to bring that up now. He screwed up, didn't he? They eat their lunch in silence but this time the silence is heavy and gloomy. Somber, Himuro takes another bite out of his lunch.

Maybe he should just give Atsushi a bit of space? If he himself is in a bad mood, then he doesn't want people to talk to him. 

A big hopeless sigh escapes Himuro and it makes Atsushi look at the other guy. The giant had stolen glances over the whole break, but now he stares fully at the other. After a few moments, Atsushi tells Himuro.

"You know, if you rather spent your lunch with Nishino, then you should just do that." Atsushi's voice is low but soft. Himuro's eyes widen. 

"What?" he says astonished.

"You don't need to keep me company out of pity." The giant says, his voice is even lower. Himuro stares for a moment and stammers.

"I- what?" He blinks a few times. Atsushi then swallows the last bite of his lunch and stands up.

"It is okay Muro-chin, I don't mind." He says and takes his tray. Himuro isn't done with his lunch and takes too long to process what is happening to react fast enough to stop the giant. With big passes and his shoulders hunched, the giant walks out of the canteen. Himuro stays behind in total shock.

What just happened? Himuro stares after the giant, then he picks up his lunch and gets up from his seat. Suddenly he doesn't feel like eating it anymore, so he decides to throw the rest away. He walks out of the canteen, just as the bell starts ringing.

Back in the classroom Atsushi gives him the same silent treatment as before. Himuro really wants to talk to the giant and wants to tell him that he doesn't understand him. He wants to eat lunch together with him, even when Atsushi is sulky or cranky. But the other guy doesn't give him a single glance, or so Himuro thinks.

It takes Himuro lots of energy to keep focussing on his lessons and not get distracted again. At least he manages to get through the lessons without getting scolded again. When the last bell rings, Atsushi gets up and directly gets his things so he can go. Himuro looks up and sees the guy's purpose so he quickly gets up himself.

"Wait Atsushi!" Himuro says, but the giant is already walking out the door without even a last "bye". Hurriedly Himuro gets all his stuff, he won't let the guy get away with this!

He walks after the giant as fast as he can, he even skips going to his locker when he sees that Atsushi is already walking out the entrance. He wants to walk to the entrance but is hold up by some other students, who want to talk to him. They are talking about Ryo or the fight or about other things, Himuro isn’t really listening. He quickly says sorry and that he is in a hurry but it takes too much time to dismiss everyone and when he is outside, he doesn't see Atsushi anymore.

"Shit." He breaths out. No no no, this is all so wrong! How did it come to this? Himuro even walks a bit more outside the school gates, but the giant is gone. Himuro grips his hands into fists and walks back inside. He walks to his locker and gets his jacket and other things without really thinking about what he is doing.

All he can think about is Atsushi. Mindlessly he walks back to his apartment. At home, he throws his bag and jacket on the floor and walks to his bedroom. There he throws himself on his bed. After 5 minutes of just lying down depressed, he grabs his phone. Carefully he sets up a text to Atsushi, it says that he really wants to talk to the guy and that he doesn't understand what happened.

After half an hour of no response Himuro sends another text, in which he asks if he had done something wrong and if Atsushi is mad at him. It takes Himuro another hour of no response, then he decides to call the giant. But as expected, the other guy doesn't answer the phone. After a second try, the call goes directly to voicemail. Did Atsushi shut down his phone?

Himuro gives up then. He will talk to the giant tomorrow, at school. He needs talk, because this is a mess. After dinner, Himuro doesn't have the energy to make more homework and just gets into bed. There he stays on his phone for too long, but every time that he wants to put it away, he thinks 'five more minutes, maybe he will text now.' In the end Himuro falls asleep with his phone in his hand. That night he sleeps very restless.

~

The next day Himuro goes to school extra early. Maybe he can talk to Atsushi before the first lesson starts. But when Himuro comes in his classroom, Atsushi isn't there. Nervously he sits down and counts the seconds before the lesson starts. Slowly everyone comes in the classroom.

A few say good morning to Himuro and he gives them a fake smile and a greeting back. The seconds become minutes and eventually the bell rings. Where is Atsushi? Himuro keeps fretting but then the teacher starts the lesson. An ominous feeling spreads through Himuro. The giant is skipping today, isn't he?

Miserable Himuro puts his head on his arms on the desk. After the first lesson, Himuro gets his phone and types a text to Atsushi. 'Where are you? Are you okay?' It says. But when Himuro sends it, he sees that the message doesn't arrive at Atsushi's phone. Is it still off? 

In lunch break Himuro stays in the classroom, he got no reason to go to the canteen now. He considers going to Nishino's table, but he sees the guy talking to the girl he likes. It is better if he doesn’t interrupt his friend now.

The scene before him does make him think about yesterday in the canteen. Why had Atsushi told him to go and have lunch with Nishino? And does the guy really think that Himuro only sits next to him out of pity?

That hurts. Didn’t Atsushi experience their conversations as something fun? Does he really not want Himuro to hang out with him? Dejected Himuro gets his phone again and starts browsing through his apps to kill the time. He checks Atsushi's chat but sees that the text still hasn't arrived.

The lessons go on and Himuro has way too much time to think. This is not fair. If Atsushi is angry at him, then he should at least give him the chance to apologize. But even that is impossible now. With the hours, his confusion changes in irritation. The last bell rings and Atsushi still hasn't responded.

Agitated Himuro gets his things and strides out the classroom. Then he gets an idea. Himuro walks to the room of his homeroom teacher. The door is already open so Himuro can look inside the room. Luckily the man is still here.

"Ah, excuse me?" Himuro says to the man while knocking on the door. Their homeroom teacher looks up form a file he was reading.

"Himuro, what can I do for you?" The teacher says with a little smile.

"I have some homework I need to deliver to Atsushi. Do you have his street name and number so I can deliver it to him?" Himuro asks. The homework excuse is a lie, but Himuro isn't sure that he can find Atsushi's apartment from his memory. And he is going to the giant's place. Today. Atsushi can't keep ignoring him like this.

"That is really kind of you, wait I have it somewhere here." The teacher gets a pen and writes something over to another paper. He hands it over to Himuro, but when Himuro takes the paper, the teacher doesn't let go. Over the paper, he looks at Himuro and asks with a concerned look on his face.

"How long are you planning to keep this up, Himuro?" Confused Himuro looks at the man.

"Keep what up?" He asks, even when he's got a feeling where this is going.

"Keeping Atsushi in the believe that you are not scared of him. I understand that you are trying to be kind and helpful. But in the end Atsushi will be hurt if you decide that everything is too much and you go away. I have seen those things happen in the years that I am a teacher, you know." The man says with a kind voice. He probably really wants to help his students, but Himuro is shocked by what he hears.

"Is this also what you told Atsushi the other day?" He says with a tight voice.

"Among other things, yes." The teaches says with a sad smile. Himuro's heart starts beating faster. He told Atsushi that Himuro would go away? Himuro pulls the paper out of the man's hand. It takes him a lot of self-control to not shout at the teacher.

"You are wrong." He tells the man through gritting teeth. "I will not abandon Atsushi. Ever." He says determined. Then he rushes out of the room. With trembling hands, he gets his jacket and other things out his locker. The anger that boils inside him is only growing. How dares that man?!

He might have meant well, but he just ruined everything between them. Himuro types the location in his phone and starts walking to Atsushi's home.

He can only guess how Atsushi is thinking about him now. And he doesn't know how he is going to convince the giant to listen to him. But Himuro is going to try, and nothing can stop him now. He is going to be as clear as can be, so that Atsushi never has doubts about his feelings for him again. He only hopes that he is not too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg, more than 100 kudos (｡･･｡). I never expected this to get so manny responds. Thank you guys so much! I will try hard and keep this up (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و.  
> Much of love for all of you <3


	13. Chapter 13

Determined Himuro walks to Atsushi's house. The moment he arrives there, he starts to feel very nervous. He gulps, but doesn't stop, he had made his decision. Himuro walks to the door and rings the doorbell. 

His heart is almost marching out his chest by the time he hears shuffling behind the door. Himure holds his when he sees the door open slowly but releases it in a heavy sigh when he sees Atsushi standing before him. At least the giant opened the door for him. 

Atsushi is wearing an even for him oversized t-shirt and black sweatpants. There are some stains on his shirt, and the bags under his eyes betray how tired the guy is. A bored expression morphs in one of disbelief when the guy sees who is standing on his doorstep.

"Muro-chin?" He asks in a soft whisper. Himuro gives the giant a careful smile.

"Hey Atsushi, can I please talk with you?" Himuro pleads. Atsushi, still surprised, looks at him a bit warily.

"Please." Himuro says again, this time more desperate. If he must, he is going to tell the giant everything right now on the porch. That will work for him, but then there is the danger of getting the door slammed into his face. And Himuro can take the risk of being stopped in the middle of his story. He needs the giant to listen to all of it. 

Atsushi tilts his head to the side and looks down at Himuro. Himuro keeps looking into the giant’s eyes, his gaze begging. Just when Himuro wants to tell everything right there, the giant steps aside and says.

"Let's talk inside then." With a little smile Himuro thanks the giant and walks through the door. The last time they stood in this narrow hallway was only days ago, but it feels like much longer. Atsushi gives Himuro all the place he needs and walks into the house after closing the door.

Himuro removes his shoes and walks after him. The house is less clean than the first time Himuro was here. Candy wrappers are laying around, the table in the living room is stashed with half done homework and in the kitchen are dirty plates laying in the sink. Everything gives a messy impression.

But Himuro only gives it a single glance, then his eyes are back on Atsushi. The giant is leaning against the table, his arms crossed. Himuro sees the confusion in his eyes when he asks.

"What do you want to talk about?" Himuro walks closer to the giant until he is standing a meter before him. Not too far to be impersonal and close enough to see every expression in the guy's eyes. It is now or never. He looks up and slowly he starts voicing his thoughts.

"I don't exactly know what the teacher told you last Friday, and I don't know how much you believe of it." Himuro nervously grips his hands together before his stomach.

"I don't know why you think that I want to spend my lunch breaks with anyone other than you, or that I even would stay with you out of pity. I don't know why you stopped answering my texts or why you don't answer the phone." Himuro lets out a shaky breath and with a much softer voice he says.

"And I don't know how you felt about our shared kiss, or what you thought about it. And how you feel about me in general." His grey eyes are locked with the wide purple ones.

"But," Himuro says, his voice louder this time. "What I do know, is how I feel about you, Atsushi. And I know that our kiss was the best thing that happened to me in a long while." His voice is getting stronger and with a stubborn devotion he continues.

"And I don't want to stop coming to the canteen with you, because I love to spend time together with you. I don't care if you are feeling sulky or if you are having a bad day." Himuro hears Atsushi's breath hitch, but he doesn't give the giant time to respond because he isn't done. His hands which were nervously gripped before him are now fists by his sides and with a trembling voice full of emotion he ends.

"I will not walk away from you, unlike what you might be thinking or what people might tell you. I won't abandon you. Because I want to be here for you, like you were there for me. And I will stay, because I want to be by your side, as long as you allow me to." Out of breath Himuro averts his gaze, he feels his cheeks getting hot. His heart is beating so loud that he thinks that Atsushi probably hears how fast it goes.

For a moment Himuro doesn't dare to look at the expression of the giant, but when the silence proceeds, he looks up from under his lashes. What he sees there is a blush redder than he's ever seen on Atsushi's face. But what catches Himuro's attention and makes his heart aches, are the giant's watery eyes. Atsushi isn't looking at him and biting his trembling lip.

"Atsushi?" Himuro asks softly. Atsushi brings a hand up to his face and rubs his eyes. After that he looks down on Himuro, his eyes still full of emotion, full of doubt and full of hope. 

Because Atsushi wants to believe the guy standing before him so badly. Himuro's words made him feel happier than he was for ages. But just because they make him so happy, Atsushi gets scared.

"But Muro-chin, you haven't seen all of me." Atsushi says uncertain with a brittle voice.

"Then show me all of you." Himuro tells the other directly. He sees the giant's doubt and Himuro would lie if he said that that doesn't hurt. He wants the other to trust him. But Himuro also knows that trust must be earned. If this is what Himuro must do to completely convince Atsushi, then this is what he will do.

"It won't change the way I feel about you. I promise." A flicker of hope shines in the giant's eyes and Himuro sees that until now, Atsushi hadn't dared to believe him. Himuro doesn't know what this guy experienced or why he acts like this. But that would be a story for later. Or never, if Atsushi chooses to keep it for himself.

Himuro takes a few steps back and spreads his hands in a gesture that says 'Go ahead'. Atsushi gives him a measuring look.

"You sure?" He asks softly. Himuro gives him an encouraging smile.

"Totally." At first Atsushi just stares at him, but then he slowly takes his hands up to his t-shirt. For a moment, he grips it so tightly that his knuckles turn white, then he pulls the t-shirt quickly over his head. Himuro's eyes go wide. He can't not admire the broad strong chest and strong muscles suddenly displayed before him.

"Why are you-" But before he finishes his sentence he already understands.

"I don't want to tear them." Atsushi still answers him. Himuro swallows thickly and flushes at the sight of Atsushi undressing himself, he just manages to look away when Atsushi kicks off his pants. 

Then Atsushi isn't there anymore. Before him stands now an enormous beast. Himuro's mouth falls open by the look of the gigantic black bear. While standing up, the bear is much taller than Himuro. 

Atsushi's thick fur is dark black, except of the white patch in the shape of a V on his chest. Himuro had never seen a bear so close before, and all he could do was looking at the beast in awe, he was majestic.

While Himuro keeps staring, the bear leans down on his four paws. Even now the bear is big, Himuro's shoulders just reach Atsushi's snout. The bear keeps his eyes closely on Himuro, intently looking at all the guy's movements. Would Himuro run anyway after all he told him? Or would the guy keep his word and stay?

Atsushi tries to stand still and he doesn't make any sudden movements. He knows that he might still look dangerous. Himuro doesn't see that though, but he does see something else. The bear's eyes have the same purple colour as they have when Atsushi is human. It reminds him of when Atsushi told him that his eyes were the same when he was a cat. 

He also admires the thick black coat of the bear. It looks really soft. Himuro slowly lifts his hand. Atsushi keeps holding still, even when he understands what Himuro is planning to do. Carefully Himuro places his hand on top of the giant's head and ruffles through the fur. Without the intention, a growling noise escapes the bear.

Immediately Himuro takes back his hand. He tries not to be scared, but his body knows the danger. Adrenaline starts pumping through his veins and Himuro starts sweating. But he holds his ground. He promised Atsushi. And he won't let himself run away.

Atsushi smells the fear coming of Himuro and braces himself for the upcoming disappointment. He knows the moment he made the sound that he made a mistake. The gruff noise was only a sound of surprise, though.

Atsushi can't remember the last time he was petted when he was his bear. He forgot how that sensation felt like. He mournfully lays his ears against his head, thinking about what he will miss. With big sad eyes he looks up to Himuro, the apology ready, but not able to voice it.

Himuro sees the emotion in the giant's eyes, though. And he is amazed by how such a large animal can look so cute. Himuro tries to calm his erratic heart. After a calming breath, he smiles at the bear.

"Ah sorry, I've must have surprised you with that, right?" He says to the bear. Atsushi tilts his head in confusion, but then realizes that Himuro is staying. Relief washes through the giant's body, with a huff he sits down.

Muro-chin is still here! He has seen his beast side, he even touched him, and he is still standing before him. He is even smiling! While carefully gazing at the other guy, Atsushi bents forward a little. He sniffs at Himuro's hand with his large black snout. Asking without words, to pet him again.

Himuro looks at the bear affectionately. He is sure that Atsushi is capable of looking extremely frightening in this bear form, but right now, all Himuro sees is a big fluffy teddy bear. He brings his hand to the bears head. Slowly, so that he doesn't surprise Atsushi again. Himuro feels the warm soft fur under his hand when he starts caressing through it.

Atsushi rumbles at the feeling and Himuro chuckles at the sound.

"You are so soft Atsushi, I could do this all day." Gently he moves his hand over Atsushi's head, more towards the bears back, and all the way back again. Atsushi is looking at Himuro through lidded eyes. He is still watching Himuro in case the guy gets scared, but concentrating becomes harder and harder.

Atsushi decides that he trusts Himuro to stay, and stops worrying. The guy starts scratching behind his ear and Atsushi leans more into Himuro's touch with a sigh. Himuro, while grinning at the bears actions, also starts using his other hand to pet the enormous bear and slowly gets somewhat rougher. That is very appreciated and the bear let’s out a content grumble.

Atsushi is enjoying it so much that he starts invading Himuro's space more and more. Until his head is even pressing against Himuro's chest.

"Hahaha, who is the eager one now, huh?" Himuro laughs, but his eyes shine with adoration when Atsushi's big purple eyes are looking up at him. He pets the bear twice on the head and then lets his hand lay there. Suddenly Himuro feels very brave. He leans more forward and drapes his arms around the neck of the bear.

Atsushi freezes under Himuro's embrace, keeping himself completely still. Of all the things Himuro could do when he saw him in his bear, this is the last thing Atsushi expected. The arms around the bears neck close a bit tighter.

"You are beautiful, Atsushi." Himuro murmurs into the bear's ear. A long huff escapes Atsushi. A tension Atsushi hadn't known that was there, washes away. Slowly he relaxes into the hug.

Himuro smiles in the tick fur, this is something he can get used to. After a few heartbeats, Atsushi moves his front paws and catches Himuro gently around his waist. He carefully puts his big claws on Himuro's back.

The human nuzzles closer into the embrace. He is kept into place by the strong claws. Himuro can hear a content rumble coming from the big body. He never though he would be able to hug a big black bear in his life. He realizes that it is only possible because of the trust that Atsushi gave him. Trust, even when so many people failed him. It must've been hard for the giant. Himuro is really happy, and in his joy, he decides to voice his feelings.

"I love you, you know." Himuro says into the pelt of the bear. Directly Atsushi raises his head and looks down in amazement at the human in his claws. Himuro doesn't see that look though, because he keeps his red face hidden in the black soft fur. His heart is beating and he stars getting nervous again.

Suddenly the fur starts to disappear under Himuro's hands. Himuro looks up to see Atsushi change back into his human form. The guy is still a giant, but in comparison with the big black bear, Atsushi's human form is a lot smaller.

Still Himuro stays trapped in the giant's arms. Selfconscious, Himuro realizes he is now hugging with a very naked Murasakibara Atsushi, but he can't get out of the strong arms. Embarrassed Himuro squeezes his eyes and hides his head in Atsushi chest.

"Muro-chin..." Himuro hears Atsushi’s low voice whisper in his ear.

"Ah, you don't have to answer me Atsushi. I just had to tell you how I feel." Himuro says quickly, his voice wavering. He lowers the arms from around Atsushi's neck and pulls them in between him and the giant's chest. He lays his hand palms against the pale skin before him and opens his eyes.

"It's okay if you don't want to do anything with it." Himuro then whispers. A hand comes to Himuro's face. Large fingers hook under his chin and slowly lift his head. The moment Himuro looks up to watch the purple eyes, he is surprised by warm lips that are pressed onto his.

Himuro gasps and his eyes widen in surprise, but the surprise lasts only a second. Then he melts into Atsushi's arms and starts kissing the giant back. The kiss is slow and soft at first, they both don't really know what they are doing, but it feels right, that's what matters.

Himuro had closed his eyes, so he could totally focus on the sensation of Atsushi's lips on his. The giant leans more forward to press his mouth harder on Himuro's and with the time, the kiss shifts into something more messy and passionate.

Himuro hums into the kiss when the arms around his back tighten. He lets his hands wander over Atsushi's chest up to his shoulders, so he can put his arms around the giant's neck again. The giant shudders under his touch and breaks the lip contact to gasp for air.

Himuro opens his eyes at the loss of contact and looks up into Atsushi's burning eyes. The pupils are dilated and Himuro sees his own need mirrored into those purple pools. Himuro's mind is completely silent. For once he doesn't have doubts, or fears. All he can do is feel. Experience the touch, the scent, the sight and the taste. It is all Atsushi. And Himuro feels ecstatic.

He brings his hand up to Atsushi's head and threads his fingers in the purple locks. With a grin he looks at the giant and slowly pulls him back down. Atsushi is also smiling when he bends down and he locks his lips with Himuro's again.

They deepen the kiss when Himuro tongue tentatively licks over Atsushi's lips and the other opens them as invitation. Himuro grips Atsushi's hair tighter to keep him in place. At that a deep growl escapes Atsushi. Suddenly the arms around Himuro's waist lower and scoop him up from under his thighs.

Himuro breaks their kiss and inhales a surprised breath when he is lifted. Then he grips Atsushi's shoulders tightly and locks his legs around Atsushi's waist to stay in place. Atsushi wraps his arms better around Himuro's thighs to keep him close.

"Muro-chin-" Atsushi says in a hazy voice, but Himuro silences him with another intense kiss. Kissing this way goes a lot easier, their mouths are on the same level and Himuro is using this opportunity to take the complete overhand.

He sighs into their kiss and grinds his body even tighter against the giant. With his movement Himuro suddenly feels something poking into his thigh, which makes Atsushi's excitement know but also remembers him of the naked state of the giant.

For a second Himuro wavers and stills in the giant's arms. Atsushi feels the hesitation of the other guy, but sees it as a bad thing. He pulls back form the kiss and averts his flushed face.

"Ah, sorry." He says ashamed. Himuro, still in a daze, doesn't realize what the giant is apologizing for until the guy puts him down on the ground and grabs his pants off the floor.

"Oh, I didn't- I mean. It’s nothing to apologize for." Himuro stutters. He feels his own the excitement clearly in his pants. He is just as aroused as the giant. With a blush going up all to his ears Himuro looks to his feet.

“I didn’t mind.” He says softly. Atsushi, now in his sweatpants and with his t-shirt in his hand, perks up at Himuro’s words. He puts his t-shirt on in one sweep and then steps back to Himuro. With his hand, he caresses the hair out of Himuro's face.

Himuro is still blue and bruised. But apparently, he is high on endorphins, because he doesn't feel any pain. Atsushi gives him a warm and grateful look and tells the other softly.

"Muro-chin, thank you." He leans his head forward, closer to Himuro.

"You're..." Himuro looks up in the now so familiar purple eyes. He holds his breath, not daring to say a thing.

"I-." Atsushi glances away for a second, but then he moves his hand from Himuro's cheek to under his chin. With a low voice and he says.

"I really enjoy spending time with you too. You are so kind, you share your snacks with me and you are such a cute cat.” The giant smiles shyly.

“I really love cats." He leans closer, his fingers tilting Himuro's face upwards. Just before he locks his lips with Himuro's, he whispers against the others’ lips. "But I love Muro-chin the most." The kiss that the giant gives him is gentle and soft. It takes Himuro a heartbeat to process what Atsushi said, then total bliss spreads through him.

"Atsushi!" Himuro breaths against the giant's mouth. He throws his arms around the other and keeps him close. The kiss that follows is just as sensual and sweet as the first. They only break apart when they finally need to breath. Himuro takes a trembling breath and looks up at the giant with a dazzling smile.

Atsushi loves him! Him! Himuro is so happy. With a smile still on his face he buries his head against Atsushi's chest.

"I love you too." He says. He might have told this to Atsushi already, but he feels like repeating it for a lot of times. Finally he's got it off his chest. Atsushi lays his head on top of Himuro’s head and enjoys the feeling of the other boy in his arms. After a while, he suddenly remembers something.

"Ah, about your texts..." He says then with a small voice. Himuro looks back up again and sees the giant scowling at something at the table.

"I crushed my phone." The giant confesses. Himuro lets go of him and turns around to look at what Atsushi is glaring at. At the table lays a phone. Or something that used to be a phone. Now it is a broken device. Himuro snorts.

"Wait, what? How did you manage to do that?" He laughs. Atsushi looks at the broken phone with a little regret.

"Ah, uhm, I threw it against the wall. I was a bit frustrated because of..." He looks at Himuro for a second, then averts his eyes.

"Things." He concludes. Himuro stops laughing, for some reason he feels that it had something to do with him. Just as Himuro wants to ask Atsushi if he wants to look for a new one together, his stomach starts rumbling. Embarrassed Himuro realizes that he forgot to eat his lunch, he was too distracted during his lunch break. Atsushi hears it too, and with a small smile he asks.

"Can I make you dinner?" The unspoken 'stay a little longer' is clear in his voice and Himuro nods happily.

"I'd love to eat Atsushi's cooking." He answers. Atsushi grins and links his hands with Himuro’s to lead him to the kitchen. Right then Himuro wonders aloud.

"Can you see a movie the same way as a bear as when you are human? Because I already look forward to how comfortable that would be... Cuddling with my personal teddy bear while watching a good movie." At that Atsushi laughs, really laughs. And Himuro realizes that he had never heard the guy laughing this genuine. Atsushi looks back and squeezes his hand with his.

"Yes, but only if I can pet Muro-chin as a cat in return." Himuro gets the biggest grin on his face.

"Deal." He says happily and Atsushi smiles back at him. And right then Himuro decides, that it doesn't matter what will happen or where this would lead him. As long as this hand was holding his, and Atsushi gives him smiles like that, then he couldn't think of a better place to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was finally the last chapter for this story~. Thank you all for sticking with me for all this time. I hope that you guys enjoyed reading this! I really loved working on this story and I am curious what you guys thought about it. ᵔᴥᵔ  
> Much of love <3


End file.
